Pakistan court ends controversy, rules senate polls to be held through secret ballot

In this photo, polling for Senate elections underway in the National Assembly on March 3, 2018. (AN photo by Aamir Saeed)

• Supreme court asks election commission to use technology to check for corruption in elections
• Senate elections for 48 seats are scheduled to be held on March 3 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Supreme Court ruled on Monday that upcoming senate elections would continue to be held through a secret ballot as per the constitution, but directed the election commission to use technology to check against corrupt practices in the polls.
The court’s 4:1 verdict came in response to a presidential reference filed on December 23, 2020 seeking the court’s opinion on whether voting in senate elections could be held through an open ballot.
“It is the duty of the Election Commission of Pakistan [...] to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly, and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against,” the court said in its order.
Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan said it was now up to the election commission to select what method to use in the upcoming elections to check corruption.
“The ECP is bound to investigate and trace the ballot to see whether any corrupt practice occurred,” he said in a statement after the verdict, adding that the election commission was “constitutionally bound” to follow the opinion of the Supreme Court and implement it without any amendments to existing rules or legislation.
Senate elections are scheduled to be held on March 3 for 48 seats. Each member of the Upper House of the Parliament is elected for a six-year term. Half of the senate members retire after every three years and new one are elected. The house has equal representation from all four provinces.
The government of Prime Minister Imran Khan has argued that open balloting would introduce transparency into a voting process that has long been plagued by irregularities, with national and provincial lawmakers accused of selling their votes.
Leaders of an 11-party opposition alliance, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), have opposed the government’s move to try to hold senate elections through an open ballot, and one of the major parties in the alliance, the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam, had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Election Amendment Ordinance 2021.
Opposition parties on Monday hailed Monday’s verdict as a victory for law and justice.
“The Supreme Court’s judgment has established the supremacy of the constitution,” Pakistan Peoples Party, a major opposition party, said in a statement.