Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the People’s Party (PPP) and the Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) are promoting horse-trading by insisting on the secret ballot for the Senate elections as the government is making hectic efforts to ensure transparency.
Talking to media in Multan, he said by indulging in horse trading by the people’s representatives would tantamount to breach of trust.
He said that by holding the Senate elections through open ballot the PTI government wants to discourage sale and purchase of votes and bring transparency in the election process.
Foreign Minister Qureshi said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken notice of horse-trading last time too.
Qureshi said that the government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a constitutional interpretation of the matter and would welcome its decision.
He claimed that the PPP and PML-N are now opposing the government for their personal interests.
He said that the masses have rejected the opposition parties’ alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), and now they are looking for a way out to satisfy their workers and stay relevant in politics.
Qureshi was speaking after the PPP leaders accused the PTI of creating a “constitutional crisis” in the country by promulgating a presidential ordinance to amend the Election Act, 2017.
Senator Sherry Rehman and former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani had said that the PTI government had feared that its members might not vote for the party candidates, that’s why the president had iisued an ordinance.
Qureshi retorted that those who have been elected on the symbol of the party should vote for them. This is not only the position of PTI, but it is also written in the Charter of Democracy signed in 2006. The parties have already supported open ballot, so why are they backing out from it now.
He said both the parties had written and signed the article 24 of the Charter of Demands for an open ballot in the Senate.
