ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) in its advice on the presidential reference on holding an open ballot for the upcoming Senate elections has maintained that the voting process can remain secret but the votes should be traceable.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising justices Mushir Alam, Umar Ata Bandial, Ijazul Ahsan and Yahya Afridi, announced the reserved opinion in the open court with 4-1 majority, in courtroom number 1 on Monday. Justice Yahya Afridi will write a dissenting note.
Votes can’t remain secret forever, the top court said, adding that the ballots should have a serial number on them so that party leaders can tell who their numbers voted for.
The reference was filed on December 23, 2020. The top court concluded its proceedings on February 25 and reserved its verdict.
During the hearing, the top judge remarked that Parliament should decide if the balloting should be open or closed.
“We have nothing to do with politics but are going to interpret the Constitution,” the chief justice had said during the last hearing.
As political parties remain engaged in intense campaigning for the Senate polls, the Supreme Court on Monday opined that the polling for the Senate elections can not be held through an open ballot.
The court had reserved its opinion last week after all the parties had concluded their arguments and after the rebuttal of Attorney-General Khalid Javed. Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed had observed that the court will give its opinion by interpreting the provisions of the Constitution.
The reference, filed by the government in the Supreme Court, says that the president has sought the apex court’s opinion on whether the condition of holding a secret ballot referred to in Article 226 of the Constitution is applicable only for the elections held under the Constitution, such as the election to the office of president, speakers and deputy speakers of the Parliament and provincial assemblies and “not to other elections, such as the election for the members of Senate” held under the Elections Act 2017 enacted to pursuant to Article 222 read with Entry 41 (1) of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution “which may be held by way of secret or open ballot” as provided for in the Act.
According to the government, the nature of the elections and the way it is conducted has not been clearly mentioned in the Constitution.
Read more: Senate Elections: SCP to announce opinion on presidential reference today (Monday)
