ISLAMABAD: The Election Commi­ssion of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to consult political parties on the use of barcoded ballot papers for Senate elections in line with the Supreme Court’s opinion against absolute secrecy.

Informed sources told Dawn that the commission, which met here to discuss the use of technology to make votes identifiable to curb horse-trading, decided to conduct the election for a Senate seat scheduled for Dec 20 through conventional method.

A source privy to the development said the commission at one stage considered the option of printing coded information on ballot papers for the Dec 20 Senate election that could only be read by a scanner through a software developed by the ECP.

But during deliberations, a scenario was envisioned where the lawmakers ref­use to vote using barcoded ballot pap­ers and it was finally decided to consult political parties on the use of technology to make votes polled for Senate elections identifiable when a need arises.

Election to a Senate seat will be held on 20th on conventional basis

“A solution is already there as a software has been developed by the ECP to read scannable information from the ballot papers in March,” an ECP official told Dawn. He, however, said the ECP was of the view that a political consensus was essential before the system was put to use.

The Supreme Court had before the Senate polls held in March this year observed that declaring secrecy of the ballot was not absolute and asked the ECP to take all available measures, including the use of latest technology, to guard against corrupt practices during Senate elections.

“In order to achieve the mandate of the ECP in terms of Article 218(3), read with Article 220 and other enabling provisions of the Constitution and law, the ECP is required to take all available measures, including utilising technologies to fulfil the solemn constitutional duty.

“[This solemn duty is about ensuring] that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against,” said a five-judge SC bench while giving its opinion on a presidential reference.

Through the reference filed in December 2020, the federal government had asked the apex court whether the Senate elections are held “under the Constitution” or under the Elections Act, 2017.

According to most legal experts, the phrase “under the Constitution” refers to Article 226 of the Constitution which says all elections under the Consti­tution, other than those of the prime minister and the chief minister, shall be held through secret ballot.

The four-one majority opinion was announced by the five-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mushir Ala, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Yahya Afridi.

Justice Afridi had disagreed with the majority opinion, observing that “the opinion sought by the Worthy President, Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the instant Reference, is not a question of law within the contemplation of Article 186 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973”. Therefore, he abstained from giving an opinion on the reference.

Meanwhile, the election to fill a Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be held on Dec 20.

The seat fell vacant after PTI lawmaker Ayub Afridi’s resignation to pave the way for election of Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin to become finance minister again.

The government had previously tried to get former finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who was also not a member of parliament, elected to the Senate.

Mr Shaikh was appointed as finance minister in December 2020 and was the government’s candidate for the hotly contested general seat from Islamabad in March’s Senate elections.

But in a blow to the government, Mr Shaikh lost the election to the joint opposition’s candidate Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, a result which led PM Imran Khan to seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly to show that he still held the majority.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2021