Reference in Supreme Court over Senate elections: AG meets president, discusses legal issues

ISLAMABAD: Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed on Tuesday held an important meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi and discussed matters related to legal issues. The meeting lasted for an hour wherein the Attorney General updated the president about his arguments before a larger bench of the Supreme Court hearing the presidential reference.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed, is hearing the reference filed by President Dr Arif Alvi under the Article 186 of the Constitution, seeking its opinion on holding the upcoming Senate election through open ballot and show of hands.

During the meeting, the Attorney General informed the president about the recent developments arising out after the Election Commission of Pakistan’s refusal to endorse the federal government’s plan of holding the Senate elections through open ballot without an amendment in the Constitution. The ECP had contended that the elections to the upper house of the Parliament (Senate) comes under the Constitution, hence for holding of the said election through open ballot, Article 226 of the Constitution required to be amended.

The Election Commission had further submitted that articles 59, 219, 224 (3) & (5) of the Constitution provide for elections to the Senate. The most ordinary and natural meaning elucidated by Article 226 is that elections ‘under the constitution’ are those that are held by or under the authority of the Constitution, the ECP had contended.