A secretly recorded video exposing horse-trading during 2018 Senate polls has made its way to television channels weeks before the 2021 election on seats of the upper house of the parliament.

According to ARY News, the video shows lawmakers belonging to the now ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) counting bundles of cash and then stashing the same in a bag.

The video shows how, during the critical period, loyalties were switched by PTI’s 20 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) lawmakers, all of whom were expelled by the party’s central leadership after an investigation, the report said.

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Quoting sources, it added that the horse-trading had been carried out between February 20 and March 2, 2018.

On February 6, President Dr Arif Alvi signed Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 that will pave way for the organisation of Senate elections through open ballot.

According to the ordinance, changes have been brought to Sections 81, 122 and 185 of the Constitution. The ordinance will come into force “at once” and “extended to the whole of Pakistan.”

A presidential reference being heard by the Supreme Court (SC) also pertains to the organisation of Senate polls through an open vote.

It may be noted that the damning video comes at a time when Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan expresses aims to hold Senate elections through open ballot in 2021 so as to eliminate the menace of horse-trading.

Defending his party’s move to hold the elections through open ballot, the premier had last week spoken of bribes paid to buy loyalties, revealing that he himself had been offered some.

He had further revealed that 20 members of the KP Assembly belonging to the PTI, likely the ones from the video, were paid Rs50 million each during the last Senate polls to vote in favour of certain candidates.