Senate Elections; SC to hear reference seeking open ballot voting on Jan 4

The presidential reference for holding Senate elections through open ballot has been fixed for hearing in the Supreme Court.

According to the details, a five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed will hear the reference on January 4 at 1 pm.

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 or show of hands.

President Dr. Arif Alvi granted approval to a reference proposed by Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking the opinion of the Supreme Court about holding the upcoming Senate polls through the open ballot.

The reference has been filed in the top court under Article 186 of the Constitution.

The government has also sought guidance from the Supreme 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 government had earlier decided to hold the Senate polls through the open ballot to ensure transparency in the election.

Senate Elections 2021

The 2021 Pakistani Senate election will be held on or before 6 March 2021.

52 of the 104 Senators will be retiring on 5 March 2021. After the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA seats were abolished and there will be no election on 4 of the 8 seats. The rest of the 4 seats will also not be renewed in 2024.