Sindh govt opposes open balloting for Senate elections

ISLAMABAD: The Sindh government on Monday submitted its response to the Presidential reference seeking an opinion on open ballot for the upcoming Senate elections before the Supreme Court.

The response stated that the Written Synopsis had shown that the Reference has been filed on the ground of political expediency and the Question can therefore not be termed a “question of law”. In the circumstances, the moral suitability of the Question for an opinion under the advisory jurisdiction of Article 186 of the Constitution was questionable and it was the Government’s position that for reasons of judicial propriety, the court should decline to offer the opinion, it added.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, it can safely be discerned from the discussion on the various provisions of the Constitution above that elections to the Senate are elections 'under the Constitution' as expressed by a plain and ordinary reading of Article 226 of the Constitution.

The insertion of the word “held” in Article 226 would lead to an absurd and illogical conclusion, which is beyond the intention of the Legislature and in conflict with the democratic values of free and fair elections encoded in the Constitution.

Undoubtedly, the Senate is elected under the Constitution and the Elections Act merely provides the procedure for holding the election, as mandated by Article 218 of the Constitution.

Therefore, any provisions of the Elections Act which regulate the conduct and manner of the Senate election must comply with the constitutional requirement of voting by secret ballots prescribed by Article 226 of the Constitution, it concluded.

It is noteworthy that the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Chairman Senate and the Speaker National Assembly had supported the reference.

“It is the considered view of the Punjab that the reference in question may kindly be answered in the affirmative so that by undertaking necessary remedial statutory action, the Election Act 2017 is amended and enable the elections to the Senate to be held through open ballot,” Advocate General of Punjab Ahmad Awais said in a reply.

Whereas, the KP advocate general said: “This provincial government supports the reference No. 01, 2020, sent by the President to this Honourable Court.”