PM Khan says will amend constitution to introduce 'show of hands' voting for Senate polls

Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan addresses the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. (AFP/File)

• Says secret balloting in the past had led to irregularities in Senate election since it allowed lawmakers to ‘sell’ their votes
• The prime minister also said he would introduce electronic voting to make the electoral exercise more credible

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday his government had decided to introduce a constitutional amendment in parliament to conduct Senate elections through a “show of hands” method of voting instead of secret balloting to ensure more transparency in the process.
Khan was announcing his government’s electoral reforms, saying that every political party had complained about irregularities in Senate polls and accused national and provincial lawmakers of selling their votes under the secret balloting system.
The prime minister said his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was the only political faction that took action against its own members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and expelled 20 members over corrupt voting practices after the 2018 Senate elections.
Khan invited opposition parties to join hands with the government and push the constitutional amendment through both houses of parliament with two thirds majority so that Senate elections could be held through a more transparent process.
He also said an electronic voting system would be introduced in general elections to make them fairer.
"I was the one who started campaigning for transparent elections after the 2013 polls,” Khan said, adding that his intention was to strengthen the electoral system in such a way that everyone, including those who lost the contest, accepted its outcome.
He added that a mechanism would also be introduced to make it possible for overseas Pakistanis to elect their representatives.
Discussing the unofficial results of an election in Gilgit-Baltistan held last weekend in which his party is in the lead, Khan said that he wanted to grant provisional provincial status to the region to meet the expectations of its people.
He expressed his gratitude to residents of the region who had put their trust in the PTI administration after a successful election campaign by his party.