Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Supreme Court (SC) has fixed the date for a hearing on the presidential reference seeking guidance to hold the upcoming Senate elections through a show of hands.
A five-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Yahyah Afridi and Justice Ijazul Ahsan will hear the reference on January 4, 2020.
The reference was submitted by Attorney General of Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan after getting approved by President Dr Arif Alvi under Article 186 of the Constitution last week.
According to the reference, the government has decided to introduce a “show of hands” in the upcoming Senate elections because the method would bring transparency to the election process.
It added that the Constitution of Pakistan currently does not provide clarity about the process of conducting the Senate elections. The government also said that the election for the Senate is conducted in accordance with the Election Act of 2017, therefore, it is possible to introduce the idea of open-balloting in the Senate.
