ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday adjourned hearing on the presidential reference seeking an opinion on open balloting for the upcoming Senate elections till Monday.
A five-member SC larger bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi heard the reference.
During the course of proceedings, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan said the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had changed its position but he held the same stance.
The local bodies elections were held under provincial laws and the Election Act, he added. Justice Bandial replied the local bodies elections were held under the Local Government Act. To this, the attorney general said that the Constitution and the law provided a complete mechanism for local government elections.
The Balochistan and Sindh High Courts had declared holding of the local government elections through secret ballot, he added. Moreover, he informed the apex court that the provincial high court had asked for an amendment in the Sindh Local Government Act.
He maintained that the Election Act 2017 was totally silent on challenging elections under the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the counsel of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) informed the court that the ECP had issued the schedule of Senate elections.
“The nomination papers will be received from tomorrow, while ballot papers are also required to be printed,” the ECP counsel said.
The court directed the AGP to complete his arguments in 15 minutes on Monday. After the top lawyer, Senator Raza Rabbani would start his arguments followed by all the four advocate generals.
