SC weighs legal obligation on govt in Senate reference

The Supreme Court on Thursday inquired whether the federal government would be bound to comply with its opinion on the presidential reference on the Senate elections. The government has sought the court's opinion on whether 'open ballot' for Senate elections would help acknowledge the respect for the choice and desire of the citizen voters. A five-member apex court larger bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi heard the reference. Through the reference, the federal government has sought the court’s opinion on whether open ballot for the elections in the upper house of parliament would help acknowledge respect for the choice and desire of the citizen voters. The federal government wants the upcoming Senate elections to be held on the basis of open ballot under the Election Act 2017. During the course of proceedings, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan said he was a counsel for the PPP in the Sindh High Court during the local body elections. “The stance that I had adopted during the local body elections is the same as in this reference. Today, the PPP has changed its stance but I stand by my position.” Justice Ahsan asked whether the government would be bound to comply with the apex court’s opinion on the presidential reference on the Senate polls. The local bodies elections were held under provincial laws and the Election Act, the AGP replied. Justice Bandial observed that the local bodies elections were held under the Local Government Act. The AGP noted that the Constitution and the law provided a complete mechanism for holding the local government elections. The Balochistan and Sindh high courts had declared holding of the local government elections through secret ballot, he added. The AGP said the court had ordered amending the Sindh Local Government Act and that the Election Act 2017 was silent on challenging elections under the Constitution. Meanwhile, a counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan informed the court that the commission had issued the schedule for the Senate elections. "Nomination papers will be received from tomorrow, while ballot papers are also required to be printed," the ECP counsel said. The court directed the AGP to complete his arguments in 15 minutes on Monday. After the AGP, Senator Raza Rabbani would start his arguments followed by all the four advocate generals. With input from APP

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