ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said on Thursday that “result of the election, if held by secret ballot, will be different from the result of the election held by open ballot”.
He observed, “I belong to Sindh too. If the elections are held by secret ballot, their result will be different from the result of the elections held by open ballot. Everybody knows the reality of deals in Pakistan. Influential people force the poor people in their areas through intimidation to strike reconciliation deals.”
The chief justice said, “This is a matter of public interest. There are several political parties involved in this case and most of them belong to Sindh. One wrong is not a justification for another wrong.”
Presiding over a three-member bench of the Supreme Court that heard the case of Karachi mayor and deputy mayor’s election, Babar Awan, the counsel for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), said that a schedule for the election of the mayor and the deputy mayor could not be issued until amendments are made to the law. He said that secret ballot would help the voters exercise their right to vote freely. He said that depriving the Sindh Assembly of its right to legislate was interference in provincial autonomy. He said that holding a transparent and fair election was the mandate of the election commission, but it could not interfere in the legislation.
Awan said the election commission had failed to get its laws implemented. He said the election commission should ensure there is no no-go area in any city or province. He said that everybody should be allowed to run his election campaign freely.
Justice Amir Hani Muslim asked if the parliamentary elections were held according to the law. Awan said yes the parliamentary elections were held according to the law. Justice Muslim said “this is not the case of Sindh only; the court will pass orders for all provinces”.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till April 12.
