Open ballot: No need to ‘amend Constitution’

National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has backed the federal government’s plan to hold the Senate elections through open ballot without amending the Constitution.

The speaker, through Secretary Assembly Lateef Yousafzai, submitted a concise statement in the Supreme Court hearing presidential reference case on Wednesday.

“It is highly desirable that voting for the Senate be held through open or traceable vote rather than secret ballot so as to strengthen parliamentary democracy of which political parties are lynchpin," says the statement.

Speaker statement also referred to the committee of the whole Senate which examined the issue in 2016 and recommended open/traceable balloting for the Senate through an appropriate amendment in Article 226 of the Constitution.

This was proposed in order to ensure that voting members vote in accordance with the party line and this will cure the floor crossing.

It is also submitted that in parliamentary democracy, parties have vital role and accountable to the people at large.

The speaker in his statement says “with profound regret” that there were serious allegations and numerous instances of vote buying with reference to the Senate elections.

“Such practices not only damage the purity of the electoral process but raise in question on the integrity and legitimacy of the democratic process and rule of law.”

The speaker also referred to Article 218 (3) of the Constitution which imposes constitutional duty on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct elections honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against.

It is further stated that the Supreme Court has the final jurisdiction to interpret the provisions of the Constitution including Article 226.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government is surprised at the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) reply to the Supreme Court in the presidential reference case wherein it supported secret ballot in the Senate elections.

Another senior government functionary believed that the ECP’s stand is in violation of Article 218(3) of the Constitution and Supreme Court judgment in PLD 2012 SC 681, which directed the ECP to take all steps to curb corrupt practices and make elections transparent, honest, fair and just.

It is also learnt that not all the government functionaries are on same page regarding open ballot in the Senate elections. One section in the PTI government does not want it.

The government through Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan has sought interpretation of Article 226 of the Constitution through the presidential reference. According to Article 226, all elections other than those of the prime minister and chief ministers, shall be held through secret ballot.

The AGP has said that the government just wants clarification whether the Senate elections should be held under the Constitution or the law. The government believes that open ballots in the Senate elections can be introduced by amending the Election Act 2017, instead of amending the Constitution.