'Past practice' to be followed in Senate elections, says ECP

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Tuesday that voting during the upcoming Senate elections on March 3 would be held as “per past practice”.

The ECP, in a  statement, shared minutes of its meeting that took place after the Supreme Court’s opinion on the presidential reference seeking the Senate polls through an open ballot.

Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja chaired an ECP meeting on Tuesday, while the commission's members Justice (retd) Altaf Ibrahim Qureshi, Justice (retd) lrshad Qasir, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, and Nisar Ahmed Durrani attended it.

The ECP decided that due to time constraints, the Senate election scheduled for March 3 will be conducted as provided in the Constitution and law as per past practice.

“The commission deliberated on the order/opinion of the Supreme Court passed today in Presidential Reference No. 1/2020 and decided to implement it in letter and spirit,” ECP's statement read.

It added that the commission is taking all possible steps and measures to fulfil its constitutional duty to check that corrupt practices in the Senate Elections are guarded against.

The ECP said it has so far not received the detailed order/opinion of the SC. 

It said that the SC has held that the election to the Senate of Pakistan is under the Constitution and the law which is through a secret ballot.

“The Supreme Court in short order mentioned that the Election Commission is required to utilize the technologies and to develop a mechanism for the fulfilment of its constitutional duty in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution.”

ECP decided to constitute a three-member committee to take input from different professional/technical organisations and prepare recommendations regarding the use of technology in the Senate election within a period of four weeks.

The committee may also take assistance from NADRA, FIA and the Ministry of IT.