Senate Election on March 3 will be conducted as per past practice: ECP

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday said that it deliberated on the order/opinion of the Supreme Court passed yesterday in Presidential Reference and has “decided to implement it in letter and spirit”.

In a statement, the ECP said that it is taking all possible steps and measures to fulfil its constitutional duty to check that corrupt practices in the Senate Elections are guarded against.

The ECP has decided to constitute a committee in this regard so that they can give their recommendations regarding the use of technology in the Senate Elections within a period of four weeks.

The ECP has decided that “due to time constraint, ensuing Senate Election scheduled for March 3, 2021 will be conducted as provided in the Constitution and Law as per past practice”.

In a short order issued yesterday, the Supreme Court observed that the Senate Elections are held in accordance with the law and the Constitution, saying it “is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to protect the polls from the menace of corruption”.

سینیٹ الیکشن ماضی کے طریقہ کار کے مطابق کرانے کا فیصلہ #AajNews #SenateElections2021 pic.twitter.com/ibYUMvFi8w

— Aaj TV Urdu (@Aaj_Urdu) March 2, 2021

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that though the Supreme Court’s opinion on the matter was different, the ECP’s decision to delay the use of technology till the next Senate polls was astonishing.

الیکشن کمیشن نے سینٹ کے انتخابات میں ووٹوں کی خرید وفروخت اور کرپشن روکنے کیلئے ٹیکنالوجی استعمال کرنےکی اہمیت کو تسلیم کیا ہے لیکن حیران کن طور پر وہ ان اصلاحات کو اگلے انتخابات کیلئے مؤخر کر رہے ہیں، سپریم کورٹ کا فیصلہ بہرحال مختلف رائے دیتا ہے ہمارے لئے دونوں ادارے محترم ہیں

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 2, 2021

He added that both the apex court and ECP are respectable for him.

All eyes will be on former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani’s election tomorrow.

He is contesting as the joint candidate of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) against PTI’s Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh.

The election between Gillani and Sheikh is important as a Gillani win would prepare the ground for a no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran.

Meanwhile, the premier is taking this contest quite seriously and is leading the Senate campaign for the government. He held back-to-back meetings with lawmakers on Monday and will also host a luncheon today for National Assembly lawmakers.