SC endorsed govt's stance for transparent Senate polls: attorney general

ISLAMABAD: Attorney General Khalid Javed said on Monday that the Supreme Court (SC) has endorsed the federal government’s stance for holding transparent elections in Senate, ARY News reported.

Attorney General Khalid Javed told ARY News that the federal government has gotten what it was looking for regarding the Senate elections.

He said that the top court asked for a recognisable Senate paper and it was up to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) now whether to print bar code or write serial number. The Supreme Court (SC) also gave its opinion for holding transparent polls in the Senate.

Read: SC directed ECP to ensure transparency in Senate polls: Fawad

The apex court’s opinion was very important that secrecy of ballot papers was not absolute, added the attorney general.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled that the forthcoming Senate elections are to be held through secret ballot under Article 226 of the country’s Constitution.

The apex court’s 4:1 majority decision, however, held that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is empowered to take all measures, including the use of the latest technology, to hold free and fair elections and curb corrupt practices under Article 218 of the Constitution.

Read: Political parties lawyers conclude arguments

A five-judge larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi pronounced the reserved opinion.

Justice Afridi dissented from the majority opinion.

The court reserved its opinion after all the lawyers had concluded their arguments. At the last hearing, Justice Gulzar Ahmed observed that Parliament only passes resolutions for transparency of the electoral process.

Read: ECP issues deadline for Senate election campaigns

Attorney General Khalid Javed after completion of the arguments of the lawyers in his rejoinder argued that the scrutiny of the vote could not hurt the secrecy. “The presidential reference is not based on a political question, but it seeks an interpretation of Article 226,” the AG argued.

“Will the supreme court’s opinion will be final,” Justice Yahya Afridi asked. “The government will be bound to the court’s opinion,” AG said. “A review plea could be filed over the court’s opinion,” Justice Afridi said.

“Review petition could not be filed over the reference,” the state lawyers.

“The court has no relation with the politics, it will only interpret the constitution,” the chief justice said.