Open ballots in Senate polls: Amendment bill to be introduced next week, says Babar

ISLAMABAD: A bill comprising three amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan would be presented in the Parliament next week ahead of the upcoming Senate elections, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said Thursday.

Addressing a press conference here, Babar Awan said the constitutional amendment bill proposes allowing "voting not to be hidden". "To date, no one ever talked about legislation to make the Senate elections fair," the PM's aide underscored. "For the first time in Pakistan's history, a constitutional package for reforms has been prepared.

"The bill will introduce three amendments," he added, one of which would be “to Article 63-1C of the Constitution”. “We’re using the words ‘open vote’ instead of ‘single transferable vote’,” he explained.

Awan mentioned that “rates” had been determined for the Senate elections but vowed to “tell everyone” about it. “The buying and selling of votes in the [upcoming] Senate elections can be stopped.

“It was agreed in the Charter of Democracy that the vote should be open and recognisable. In order to stop horse trading, the Opposition parties should unite and consider the amendment as a national agenda,” he stressed.

The premier’s aide also spoke of the anti-government coalition under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner, saying two of the parties in it had “openly said they will break up the Balochistan government”.

“Governments do not go as a result of bad prayers but through a no-confidence motion under a constitutional procedure,” he said. “The transparency report is another proof of the PML-N’s corruption.”