The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced the holding of Senate polls on March 3. The election schedule has been announced. The Supreme Court is likely to render its advice on the issue of the ballot being secret or open in the next few days. Everything is all set to go for the election of 48 Senators.
This time the issue of having an open ballot for Senate elections has suddenly emerged as the top concern of the PTI on account of a peculiar need of the party leadership which had never raised the issue in the past. A secret ballot suited Prime Minister Imran Khan when he got the present Senate Chairman selected and when he foiled the opposition’s no-confidence move against Mr Sanjrani. Had the PTI taken a principled stand then and worked together with the opposition, an open ballot would have replaced the secret ballot by now. The PTI’s sudden opposition to the secret ballot is motivated by the apprehension that party legislators who resent allotting Senate tickets to the PM’s unelected favourites might vote against the official nominees, causing embarrassment to the leadership. Despite agreeing to an open ballot in the Charter of Democracy, the PPP and PML(N) opposed the PTI on the issue in the hope of getting an extra seat or two in the Senate at the expense of their rival. It is time political parties stop ignoring long term interests on account of political exigencies.
Irrespective of whether the Senate polls are held with open ballot or secret ballot, the results will by no means be much different. In the case of the PTI even the most favourable estimates do not give it more than 29 seats in a house of 100. Even with the support of all its allies the party will find it difficult to pass a law without the support of the opposition while it will not be able to enact any constitutional amendment during the rest of its tenure. It is time the PTI leadership realized that it is futile to continue to call opposition leaders thieves and dacoits and still hope for cooperation from the opposition, which is vital to run the system.
