Spy cameras at polling booth cause outrage ahead of Senate chief election

ISLAMABAD, MAR 12: A Senate election already marred with controversies became murkier on Friday after "hidden" cameras were found in the polling booth ahead of voting for the chairman and deputy chairman slots.

The special session got off to a noisy start as the opposition, led by PPP's Raza Rabbani, claimed that "secret cameras" had been installed at the polling booth. "This is against Article 226 of the Constitution," he said, as the house resounded with "shame, shame".

The opposition demanded that an investigation be carried out into who was "in control of the Senate".

The protest prompted the presiding officer to issue directives for changing the polling booth. "The current polling booth should be removed, another should be set up afresh," he said.

Earlier in the day, PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar claimed that he and PML-N Senator Musadiq Malik found "spy cameras" above the polling booth.

On his twitter account, Malik said: "What a freaking joke. The Senate polling booth has secret /hidden cameras installed. SO MUCH FOR DEMOCRACY."

He also claimed to have found another "hidden device" in the polling booth.

Meanwhile, Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry responded to Khokhar's tweet, stating that it looked "more like a CCTV cable" and that "spy cameras are far more sophisticated".

The Senate secretary should look into this claim, he said.

In another tweet, he shared an "example" of a spy camera. "The camera can be fitted in the head of a nail. The detection of such cameras is impossible. In all likelihood, the CCTV camera cable has been misunderstood as a spy camera," he theorised.

Govt vows to 'expose' opposition

Speaking at a press conference, Information Minister Shibli Faraz vowed to investigate the incident and "expose" the opposition.

Many Senate officers were appointed during the tenure of the opposition parties, he said. "They have been doing this for a long time; this is evident from the video of Ali Gilani teaching MNAs how to waste votes," he said.

He said that the PTI's stance has always been clear and is in front of the people. "We have always wanted corruption to be removed and open voting to come into play."

He maintained that a new polling booth should be set up, adding that the opposition had conspired to install the cameras. The minister stated that if the government wished to make such moves, it would have done so during the Senate polls.

"Even though they are thieves, they want to portray themselves as the victims. We will uncover who was behind this," he said. "How did they know that cameras were present? They did it themselves," he said.

Senators take oath

During the morning session, Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah administered the oath to the 48 members. After taking the oath, the Senators signed the roll of members.

Announcing the schedule for the election of the Senate deputy and chairman, the presiding officer said that the candidates can file their nomination papers in the office of the Senate secretary by noon. The scrutiny process will take place at 12:30pm. The candidates can withdraw their nomination papers any time before the election.

The session has been adjourned till 3pm.

Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (PPP) and Maulana Abdul Gha­foor Haideri (JUI-F) have been fielded by the Pakistan Democratic Movement as its joint candidates for the posts of chairman and deputy chairman, respectively.

The government had alre­a­dy announced that outgoing Senate Chairman Muha­mmad Sadiq Sanjrani will be its candidate for the office for another term. On Thursday, Prime Minister Imran Khan nominated Senator Mirza Moha­m­mad Afridi — a billionaire from erstwhile Fata — for the post of the deputy chairman.

Who do the numbers favour?

Though the opposition enjoys a clear majority in the Senate to win both the seats, political pundits say it is going to be a close contest and any deviation from party policy and wastage of votes in secret ballot can translate into an upset.

Back in August 2019, Senate Chairman Sanjrani had survived no-confidence vote when only 50 votes were cast in favour of the opposition’s motion when 53 votes were needed of the 104-member House for success of the move, 45 senators had voted against the motion and five votes were rejected. Interestingly, earlier when the resolution was moved for no-confidence motion, 64 opposition members had supported it.

Now, the senators of the ruling coalition include 27 members of the PTI, 12 of Balochistan Awami Party, three of MQM, three independents and one each of PML-Q and GDA. The opposition senators include 21 of PPP, 17 of PML-N, excluding Ishaq Dar who has not taken oath of the office, five of JUI-F, two each of ANP, BNP-Mengal, PkMAP and National Party and one of Jamaat-i-Islami. The opposition collectively has 52 members in the House excluding Mr Dar, against 47 senators belonging to the ruling coalition. As the Jamaat-i-Islami has decided to abstain from voting, the difference between the vote bank of the government and the opposition has narrowed down to four.

After the Senate elections on March 3, the House strength has been reduced to 100 senators and now it consists of 99 senators, as Ishaq Dar is in self-exile and has not taken oath as a senator. Likewise, JI Senator Sirajul Haq has reportedly announced to stay away from the election and this brings the strength of the opposition to 51 senators.

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COURTESY DAWN NEWS

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