Raza Rabbani opposes PM Imran suggestion of open voting in Senate

Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has opposed the government move on a constitutional amendment for election in Senate through a show of hands on technical grounds.

The statement from the senior PPP leader came after an announcement by Prime Minister Imran Khan that the PTI government had decided to move a constitutional amendment in the parliament to elect new senators through “show of hands” instead of a secret ballot.

The prime minister, in a media talk on Tuesday, had recommended changes in electoral laws to ensure transparency including electronic voting and a separate system for overseas Pakistanis.

Responding to the PM’s recommendations just four months before the Senate polls, Raza Rabbani suggested that instead of an open vote, the name of the voter as a member of the provincial assembly be written on the ballot paper.

He said that during the previous session of the National Assembly, a government bill namely, “The Constitution (Twenty-Sixth Amendment) Bill, 2020, hereinafter referred to as, “the Bill” was introduced and referred to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

That, “the Bill” seeks to amend Article 59, Constitution, 1973, to the extent of, in clause (2) of the said Article, replacing the word “transferable” with the word “open”, he said.