‘MNA cards must for casting votes in Senate polls’

ISLAMABAD: The parliamentarians not possessing MNA cards will not be allowed to cast their votes for the Senate elections today (Wednesday).

Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri Tuesday informed the House that cards of MNAs are mandatory to cast vote for Senate elections. Making announcement at outset of the proceedings of the House, the deputy speaker asked all the MNAs to approach the National Assembly Secretariat to get their cards if they do not possess the same. However, Qasim Suri said the timing of the Senate elections would be announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

According to the Rule 111 of the Elections Rules 2017, the identity card is essential to cast the vote. According to this sub-rule (1) of the Rule 111, “Each voter shall carry with him an identity card issued to him by the secretary National Assembly of which he is a member and shall, if so required, show the same to the returning officer before a ballot paper is issued to him. The sub-rule (2) states that the returning officer shall, after satisfying himself about the identity of the voter and after ensuring that he has not already voted, put a tick mark against the name of the voter in the list of voters, enter the name of the voter on the counterfoil of the ballot paper and, after stamping the ballot paper on its back with the official mark and initialing it, hand it over to the voter.

The sub-rule (3) of Rule 111 states that no ballot paper shall be issued to a voter unless it has been stamped with an official mark and initialed. The sub-rule (4) says that no ballot paper shall be delivered to a voter unless he has put his signature on the counterfoil of the ballot paper in token of the receipt of the ballot paper.

The National Assembly Tuesday passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Ibadat International University, Islamabad Bill, 2021.

Meanwhile, the PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Kh Asif have been allowed to go to Islamabad for casting vote in the Senate polls.

Accountability Court Judge Amjad Nazir Chaudhry allowed Shahbaz Sharif to go to the federal Capital, on an application filed by the Kot Lakhpat Jail authorities whereas Accountability Court Judge Akmal Khan allowed Kh Asif on an application submitted by the jail authorities for the purpose.

The jail authorities had sought permission for taking both under-trial Shahbaz Sharif and Kh Asif to Islamabad today to poll their votes in Senate elections. On the written requests from leadership of the PPP and the PML-N, the ECP had ordered that the presence of all the detained voters of the Senate elections should be ensured on the polling day.