- Following PM’s blunt proposal to curb horse trading ahead of Senate polls, Imran Khan and Asif Zardari emerge united in favour of ‘showing hands’
- Experts, politicians divided on issue: opponents cite legal glitches in ‘showing hands’, proponents propose constitutional amendment for fixing shortcomings
In a rare display of nerve-control, albeit conditional and ceremonious, the political competitors of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government supported Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s call for “show of hands”, exhibiting confidence of coming out clean in Senate’s horse trading vaganza.
IT COULD BE DONE:
Leader of the House in Senate Raja Zafarul Haq Tuesday hinted that the Parliament could pass an amendment in Article-226 of the Constitution a day before the Senate election, scheduled to be held on March 5, to curtail horse-trading.
“Sessions of the Senate and National Assembly have been summoned on February 27 and March 4 respectively. A day-long proceeding is sufficient to pass the amendment by both houses and get the presidential nod on it,” Haq said in a statement.
“Under the Constitution, all elections, other than that of prime minister and provincial chief ministers, were held through secret ballot. There is a need to just inserting the name of Senate in the article to adopt the ‘show of hands’ method in its election,” he explained.
Haq, who is also the PML-N chairman, said there was consensus among almost all major political parties to end illegal and immoral activity of horse trading, being reported for the upcoming Senate elections.
KHAN, ZARDARI SUPPORT GOVT:
In the meanwhile, in a rare show of unanimity of views, top opposition leaders have welcomed the government’s proposal to conduct the Senate elections through “show of hands”.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari extended their support to the idea floated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to remove any possibility of horse trading during the upcoming Senate election, paving the way for amending Article 226 to allow the parliamentarians to vote openly for electing 52 members of the Upper House on March 5.
Talking to reporters at Bani Gala before leaving for an investment conference in Dubai, Imran Khan appreciated the government’s proposal to use “show of hands” method for the Senate elections. However, in the same breath, he continued to take jibes at the PML-N government before finishing off with general elections forecast in 2015.
Elaborating on the menace horse trading is and how ‘showing hands’ will ‘help’, the former sportsman reiterated his party’s stance that the PTI lawmakers would not join Parliament until the formation of a Judicial Commission for a through probe into the election rigging allegations.
Similarly, however in a much ‘reconciliatory’ tone, PPP co-chief Zardari denounced horse trading, attributing it as the “root of manipulated power transfer”, stressing the need for comprehensively addressing the issue in a holistic manner instead of looking for piecemeal solutions.
“It is good that the government seems to have realised that horse trading in Senate elections is a serious issue that has done great disservice to the Parliament and political processes and needs to be addressed,” a statement quoted Zardari as saying.
ZARDARI BACKS KHAN TOO:
After feasting his inner eye on the government’s recent pearl of wisdom, Zardari voiced support for PTI chief’s demand for an election audit.
“One hopes that the apparent realisation on the part of the government to address horse trading will not be a political gimmickry but a first step towards comprehensive electoral reforms,” he said.
SHAH DISAPPROVES:
However, National Assembly Opposition Leader of the PPP Syed Khursheed Shah ruled out the method of “show of hands”.
“The method of show of hands for casting Senate votes poses some technical issues,” Shah said while talking to media persons in the federal capital.
A day earlier, he said he had taken up the matter with Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid and Railways Minister Saad Rafique and they were also on the same page with him.
Shah said there remains no room for modification in the modus operandi for casting votes once the schedule for Senate polls was announced, however he advised the government to put forth this matter before the Electoral Reforms Committee.
EXPERT OPINION:
Known jurist Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed discarded the government’s proposal to adopt the method of show of hands in the Senate election, stating that the proposal lacked political maturity and was impractical. He said that there was no law which prohibits the Parliament to enact a law with a retrospective effect.
“The ECP cannot dictate terms on the Parliament which represents the people at large. The ECP also can’t deprive the Parliament from framing a law with a retrospective effect.”
However, the lawmakers should also consider how they would be able to set their priorities while casting their vote for seven candidates. He questioned the fate of transferable votes of MPs if they are allowed to vote through show of hands in Senate election.
Former ECP secretary Kanwar Dilshad Ahmed said that it was sad to note that the government did not conduct any research to resolve the issue of horse trading. He said even the federal cabinet proposed to conduct the Senate election by show of hands without discussing the technicalities involved in the voting pattern.
“Show of hands cannot be adopted in Senate elections as each voter has to mention at least 14 priorities for his vote. Now, if the show of hands method is adopted for Senate polls, the matter of priorities by the voters would not be addressed,” he remarked.
Asked what proposal could be floated to guide the Parliament out of the political mess, Dilshad said that the solution was that the Parliament may amend Article 226.
“The government may exclude Senate election from secret ballot by bringing an amendment in Article 226. Hence, the returning officer may announce the priority list of the voters one by one,” he added.
An official in the ECP said that the election body was bound to implement the framed laws.
“If any law is framed, the ECP would have to implement it. But the show of hands is not practical idea in Senate election. The voters cannot give their priorities through show of hands as a voter has to elect seven Senators which cannot be implemented through show of hands,” he said.
“A solution may be to implement the proportionate representation procedure. For this purpose, the government would have to amend the Article 51 and add Senate elections into it. There would be no need to hold elections for Senate and rather, the ECP would automatically award Senate seats on the basis of the strength of each political party in the assemblies like the way the reserved seats for women are awarded in the national and provincial assemblies,” the official added.