Senate elections: Govt, Opp claim victory

ISLAMABAD: A five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court (SC) Monday gave its opinion on the presidential reference regarding Senate elections, saying that polls would be held through the secret ballot, according to Article 226 of the Constitution.

The 4-1 majority opinion was announced by the apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and including Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi.

The bench ruled that elections to Senate were Monday hailed the Supreme Court’s opinion about the Senate elections through the secret ballot.

In a twitter message, Maryam said it had been proven once again that the Constitution was superior to the ‘conspiratorial’ ordinances and ‘ill-intentioned’ references. She said the PTI was now raising a hue and cry about the use of technology to trace the votes polled in the Senate elections.

“Mark my words, no measures similar to the breakdown of the Results Transmission System (RTS) and the Daska by-election would be tolerated. Why are you afraid of the power of the vote?” she questioned.

PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Monday said the Supreme Court had given its observations about transparent elections but it was only the Parliament that could change the Senate election procedure through a constitutional amendment.

“We respect the Supreme Court, but this is the right of the Parliament to make any change to the law or amend the Constitution,” he said while talking to reporters outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

He said no single party could bring about electoral reforms or amend the Constitution rather it had been a tradition that both the government and the opposition sat together for any constitutional amendment.

Abbasi said following the SC verdict, the ordinance promulgated by the government carried no more importance or legal status.

He said had the president read the Constitution before, he should not have sent the reference to the Supreme Court.

“The president sent two references, including Justice Faiz Isa reference, to the SC and both were very controversial,” he said, adding that there had also been many speculations in the media about the reference which were not very positive.

“We hope that the president will act carefully and apply his mind while forwarding any reference referred to him by the government,” he said.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s opinion about the presidential reference in the Senate election.

In a policy statement, PPP Secretary General Farhatullah Babar hailed the verdict as “the triumph of law, justice and Constitutionalism”.

“It is also vindication of the position taken by the PPP in the court on the issue,” he added.

He said the PPP had contended that the PTI government abused the office of the president by filing the presidential reference.

“Never before a legislation has been sought to be done through what has come to be known as the ‘anticipatory ordinance’,” he said.

He said it was no less deplorable that the president had also signed on the dotted line of the advice sent to him for filing the reference under the Constitution before the Supreme Court as well as in issuing an ‘anticipatory ordinance’ without applying his mind and without asking any question from the government.

“The office of the President of Pakistan is and ought to be much more than merely an ordinance-making workshop,” he added.

Former prime minister and PDM candidate for the Senate elections from Islamabad Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani termed the Supreme Court opinion a moral victory of the opposition’s stance on secret ballot.

“An attempt to violate the Constitution has failed today,” he said. PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar claimed the government had been miserably defeated even before the Senate election. He said the government wanted to avoid the Senate election but failed.

“It is ridiculous that the government’s spokesmen are declaring the opinion their victory. They have no answer to questions if the Supreme Court has ordered holding the Senate elections by a show of hands as the government wanted. They also do not have the answer to the question if the presidential order is effective after the Supreme Court’s opinion,” he argued.

Meanwhile, a government delegation, comprising federal ministers Fawad Chaudhry, Shafqat Mahmood and advisers to PM Shahzad Akbar and Babar Awan, visited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The federal cabinet members urged the Election Commission to chalk out a way for ensuring transparency in the Senate polls in the light of the Supreme Court opinion.

It was learnt that the Election Commission would devise a strategy within 24 hours after mutual consultations among the members.

“[We told the ECP that] whatever technology [you need] we have it,” said Fawad while talking to reporters after the meeting. He said if the ECP used the offered technology, then the ballot papers would be printed “within two hours”

“If we can print currency [within record time] then we can also print 1,500 ballot papers,” said Fawad Chaudhry.

He said the Supreme Court, in its opinion, had maintained that votes will be identifiable for the ECP but they will remain “secretive” for the political parties.

He said this was recommended by the apex court so the ECP could investigate allegations of horse trading.

The minister said they trusted the ECP office-bearers adding that all institutions were liable to cooperate with the ECP as per the Constitution. Fawad said the apex court’s advice was quite clear that every vote to be polled would be identifiable and it would be found out, who voted for whom.

“We have urged the Election Commission to implement the SC’s opinion in letter and spirit,” he remarked.

Shafqat contended that in their view the best way was that there might be a bar code or anything else, which should help the Election Commission to determine, who had voted for whom.

“The PTI feels that this SC decision validates our stance and takes it forward against the environment of corruption with regard to the Senate polls, which had been developed in the past, must be eliminated. And, what the SC said is that such measures should be taken, which should not let the corruption mar the poll exercise,” he maintained.

Babar Awan said the entire power went to the words under Article 218 i.e. to organize and conduct the elections, which the Election Commission does.

He said Imran Khan had been striving for corruption-free elections from the beginning. “He wanted that at least once there should be no market of conscience-selling during the Senate elections,” he said.

According to APP, Babar Awan said the Supreme Court opinion had highlighted the government’s stance and asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure transparency in the Senate elections.

“Paragraphs 3, 5 and 6 of the opinion are very important where the apex court has highlighted the stance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),” he said talking to the media outside the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Dr Babar said the SC, in its opinion, quoted the verdict of a 5-member bench in Niaz Ahmed case of 1967 in which the court had held that the secrecy of the ballot was not absolute and that it had not to be tempered by practical consideration necessitated by the process of election.

He said today the apex court had advised the ECP to decide the matter regarding secrecy of ballots in the Senate election keeping in view the ground realities.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz tweeted that the opinion of the Supreme Court about the Senate elections was historic. The minister said today was the day of disappointment for those selling their conscience.

“Those who set up markets for votes will be frustrated. This is the success of Imran Khan’s vision for transparent elections,” Shibli noted.

He contended that the use of technology in the light of SC opinion would ensure transparency and vote identification.