PTI govt decides to hold Senate elections in February: sources
The federal government has decided to hold the Senate elections in February, sources said Tuesday, as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) mounts up pressure on the Centre.
The elections were scheduled for March; however, some ministers have informed Geo News that the government will move the Supreme Court to hold the elections.
The decision was taken by the government during a cabinet meeting by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sources confirmed that the government has decided to adopt the process of 'open voting' in the Senate.
The move to hold elections early was proposed by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, according to sources, which was agreed to by the prime minister and other members of the cabinet.
Through the open voting process, everyone will know who voted for who in the Senate elections.
During the meeting, Chaudhry proposed that the government should consult the Opposition on any electoral reforms it undertakes in the Parliament.
However, the prime minister said that whenever the government tried to contact the Opposition for any reform, it started to ask for an NRO.
"We are ready to talk to the Opposition on electoral reforms," answered the prime minister. "[However] Whenever we try to talk to the Opposition, they tell us to throw out their [corruption] cases," he added.
During the meeting, Attorney General Khalid Javed Khan put forth his legal opinion on holding the elections early while Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs, Babar Awan briefed members of the cabinet on the legal and political angles of the move.
