ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has decided to hear the presidential reference on Senate elections on January 4.
A five-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi will hear the reference.
The federal government filed the reference in the Supreme Court under Article 186 of the Constitution. President Dr Arif Alvi had signed the reference and sent it to the apex court for consultation on holding the upcoming Senate polls through open ballot.
The government has sought the opinion of the court if the issue can be decided without amending the constitution and introducing an amendment in Section 122 (vi) of the Election Act 2017.
The federal government has already decided to hold Senate elections early in February and invoke advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court on open voting for the polls.
Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan had earlier said the government will seek the interpretation of Article 226 of the Constitution. Article 226 states all elections under the Constitution other than those of the prime minister and chief ministers shall be held through secret ballot.
The elections are to be held for 52 seats of the upper house because as many members of the 104-member Senate will retire on March 11, 2021.
