Daily Times

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday pushed for a major procedural shift in the upcoming Senate elections at a meeting of the federal cabinet. The prime minister expressed concern over reports of alleged horse-trading, bribery and manipulation of members of the provincial Assemblies for Senate votes. He stated that it was time to take steps to make the Senate election process fair, transparent and in accordance with democratic norms. He also set up a committee consisting of the government’s top legal advisors to deliberate on the measures that could be taken to ensure that the elections are held completely above board. The committee later recommended that the polling of the upcoming Senate elections should be held via open show of hands rather than by secret ballot, as has been the norm till now. To carry out this change, the committee suggested that a 22nd constitutional amendment be put in place to alter Article 226 of the 1973 constitution, which states that “all elections under the Constitution shall be by secret ballot.” The Third Amendment later altered this article to apply to all elections with the exception of those for the prime minister and chief ministers of the provinces. The committee also recommended a return to the pre-2002 system of the Senate elections in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The prime minister’s directives to redress the procedure of the Senate elections were issued in the context of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan’s drive to shift from secret ballots to open ones. The chairman of the opposition party has been adamant that the elections cannot be transparent and horse-trading cannot be avoided if the votes are cast by way of secret ballots.

On the same day as the prime minister’s address to the cabinet, the Election Commission of Pakistan released the polling schedule to fill the 52 seats of the upper house of parliament listed for the elections. The elections are scheduled to take place on March 5, just 10 days from the cabinet’s desire to attempt to bring in a constitutional amendment to Article 226. At this stage, it is not possible to lobby for the amendment to allow open ballots and attain a two-thirds majority in parliament, let alone implement the procedural shift before the polling. Members of other political parties have also expressed reservations about the switch from secret ballots to open ones at this juncture. Sherry Rehman, the Vice President of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians, pointed out that it was too late to initiate a constitutional amendment so close to the Senate election. While asserting that the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians has always been against horse-trading, she argued that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s 1973 constitution established the sanctity of the secret ballot and there should be further talks amongst political parties to determine and enact broad electoral reform. This disagreement reflects the difficulties involved in trying to pass the proposed constitutional amendment through parliament, particularly in the timeframe of the 2015 Senate elections.

However, the premier’s endeavours to address the long-standing issue of horse-trading are admirable and should mark the beginning of further steps and discussions to ensure transparency in the future. Given the predominantly centralised control of the federation in Pakistan, with representatives of the largest province of Punjab largely dominating the National Assembly, the fairness of the Senate elections is necessary to ensure appropriate representation of the provinces in parliament. The very purpose of the existence of the Senate, with equal representation of the provinces regardless of their relative populations, is to balance to some extent the control of the Centre by Punjab. Therefore, despite the fact that it is unrealistic to expect a change in the electoral proceedings for the upcoming elections, the government should continue to pursue a procedural shift and possibly constitutional reform to secure the fairness of future Senate elections. *