ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government is planning to approach the Supreme Court to hold the Senate elections in a transparent way through open voting and avoid horse-trading allegations, according to a media report on Wednesday.
A Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday decided to hold the Senate elections on 52 seats in February, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz, after the meeting, told reporters that the government would approach the Supreme Court to seek its guidance on holding the Senate elections through show of hands.
He said since Senate elections tended to always become “controversial” and subject to horse-trading allegations, the government wanted the polls to be transparent and genuine.
A bill had been presented in the National Assembly on this on the basis of an earlier Supreme Court order and the Cabinet discussed how the bill could be passed, the minister said.
The elections are to be held for 52 seats of the upper house because as many members of the 104-member Senate will retire on March 11.
The Senate members are elected for six years, but half of them retire every three years at completion of their term.
Its members are elected by the four provincial assemblies on the basis of proportional representation. All federating units have equal representation in the Senate.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Khan said legal reforms regarding the elections were meant only to make the entire process transparent and the doors were open for all political parties for talks on the issue, the report said.