KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman has strongly criticized the PTI-led federal government for issuing ordinances regarding the Senate elections “overnight”, saying that the move was an attack on the Constitution.
Addressing a press conference along with former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani, Sherry Rehman said that the government “does not have a two-thirds majority to pass a constitutional amendment.”
“They have created a constitutional crisis with their own hands,” she said, asking, “Why did the government introduce an amendment only one month before the Senate polls?
She added that it was the job of the parliament to bring about constitutional amendments, adding that the government should have taken the Opposition’s viewpoints on board before issuing the ordinance.
“The sole reason for the amendment is that the PTI government had feared its members and their votes were no longer in their hands,” she claimed. She also said that the intentions of the government were clear and the PPP would reject them and will challenge them on every level.
Taking over the presser, former Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani denounced the ordinance on similar grounds, claiming that the government did not consult any political parties or PPP parliamentarians before drafting the amendment bill of the Senate elections.
“The government should have waited for the SC’s advice on the presidential reference. It feels you are trying to pressure the Supreme Court,” the PPP leader said, adding that the ordinance issued by the government in relation to the Senate election is based on “malicious intent.”
Criticising the government’s handling of the process, he said relevant stakeholders were not consulted and the government didn’t attempt to initiate dialogue or build consensus on the matter. “Even the Senate wasn’t taken into confidence,” Rabbani added.
“This Cabinet is playing with the country and the Constitution. It thinks the Constitution and laws are like plasticine which you can mould into any shape,” he added.
President Arif Alvi on Saturday signed the Elections (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 to pave the way for Senate elections to be held via an “open and identifiable ballot”.
According to the Ordinance, changes have been brought to Sections 81, 122 and 185 of the Elections Act, 2017. The Ordinance will come into effect “at once” and “extend to the whole of Pakistan”.
