SC to hear presidential reference on holding Senate elections through open ballot

ISLAMABAD: The Presidential reference filed in the Supreme Court regarding the holding of Senate elections through an open ballot will be heard today.

A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed will hear the case at 1 p.m today. Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan will appear in the hearing. The bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, and Justice Yahya Afridi will hear the presidential reference.

It may be recalled that the government has sought the opinion of the Supreme Court to hold the Senate elections through open ballot instead of secret ballot. After President Dr. Arif Alvi signed a reference to holding Senate elections through open ballot or show of hands, the government approached the court and sought an opinion.

The presidential reference filed in the Supreme Court took the position that Senate elections are not held under the Constitution. The Senate is elected under the Election Act 2017. Senate elections can be held under an open ballot. The government took the position that the open ballot would bring transparency in the Senate elections.

The reference said that due to the secret ballot, questions are raised on transparency after the Senate elections. The President had approved to send the reference to the Supreme Court. He approved the Prime Minister’s proposal to send a reference to the Supreme Court under Article 186 of the Constitution.