SHC rules against show of hands procedure

Court orders mayor, deputy mayor and other local govt leaders to be elected through secret balloting

Karachi

The Sindh High Court (SHC) declared as null and void on Wednesday an amendment to the local government law replacing secret balloting with a show of hands as the procedure for electing mayors, deputy mayors and other local government representatives in the province.

The court ordered that the mayor, the deputy mayor and local government representatives be elected through secret balloting.

The fourth amendment to the law had been challenged by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other opposition parties.  

MQM’s nominated mayor, Waseem Akhtar, expressing his satisfaction with the verdict, said the court had provided them justice.

The Sindh government had claimed that this and other changes to the law were aimed at curbing horse-trading by elected councillors. 

Last Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan had postponed local government elections to reserved seats in Sindh. 

According to Article 226 of the Constitution of Pakistan, except for the elections of the prime minister and the chief ministers, elections for any other seats could not be held through a show of hands.

On January 28, the SHC had issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the local government secretary and other authorities on petitions filed by the MQM and the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional challenging the PPP government’s fourth amendment to the local government law.

The petitioners, including MQM leaders Sardar Ahmed, Khawaja Izharul Hasan and Waseem Akhtar and PML-F MPA Nanand Kumar, submitted that the assembly had passed the Sindh Local Government (Third Amendment) Bill, 2016 on January 18, with amendments to the procedures for the election of the mayor, deputy mayor, chairman, vice chairman and other elected members of union councils and union committees.

They pointed out that the amendment called for abolishing secret balloting and instead the members would raise their hands in the house to vote for elected representatives nominated for various slots.

The petitioners argued that the amendment was a violation of articles 7, 37(1), 140-A and 219(d) of the constitution, which required the election body to conduct elections of the national and provincial assemblies as well as those for the local governments in a free and fair manner.

“Article 226 of the constitution says all elections, except those of the prime minister and the chief Minister, shall be held through secret balloting,” they said, adding that any procedure adopted by the authorities concerned to elect the LB representatives through the show of hand would be without jurisdiction, unconstitutional and of no legal effect.

They further said that the conduct of elections in a manner in which the sanctity of the secret ballot was not prescribed was un-Islamic as well as a violation of the provisions of the constitution.

The opposition leaders claimed that the respondents were bound to provide the fundamental right of association, as prescribed in Article 17 of the constitution, which could not be ensured if the elections were held through secret balloting.

The court was, therefore, pleaded to declare that the amendment bill was without lawful authority, unconstitutional and illegal. It was also requested to restrain the respondents from conducting the elections of the LG representatives through show of hand.

A division bench, headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, without considering the stay applications, issued notices to the respondents, including federal and provincial law officers, to file their comments by February 2.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N has also challenged the third and fourth amendments to the local government law relating to secret balloting for the election of elected representatives and an increase in the number of its non-elected members.