In the light of the existing constitutional provisions, the Senate elections are held through secret ballot which has questioned the transparency of the vote. “Instead of cribbing and crying, parliamentary parties need to come together to put an end to secret ballot by bringing a constitutional amendment. Article 226 of the Constitution reads, “Election by secret ballot: All elections under the Constitution, other than those of the prime minister and the chief minister, shall be by secret ballot.”According to Dilshad, an election through secret ballot leaves no trail to determine who has voted for whom. The former ECP secretary said the rationale behind Senate elections through secret ballot for the senators was to “listen to their conscience” and vote. “But this is thoroughly misused and we haven’t seen anything like conscience as far as Senate elections are concerned,” he said.

Source: The Express Tribune February 19, 2018 04:18 UTC