Mandatory in Constitution to hold Senate elections on time, says Rabbani

LAHORE: Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Saturday said that it is constitutionally mandated that Senate elections be held on time.

“The Senate election must be held on time as the Constitution states,” Rabbani said, adding that any actions that are against the Constitution should not be taken.

“The Constitution does not say anything regarding the completion of electoral college,” he said in Lahore while addressing the convocation of a private law college.

“The election will be held on time and new members will take oath on March 12,” the Senate chairman said.

He also said, during his address, that respecting institutions was necessary for their stability.

“We must respect the institutions in order to make them stable, but it is also imperative that the institutions work while remaining well within their constitutional limits.”

Rabbani claimed that Pakistan has operated under either the ‘law of the jungle’ or martial law in the past.

“Whatever laws we had in the past were not the same for people in power and the common man,” he said.

The Senate chairman further stated that everyone should believe in the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law. 

Earlier, the ruling PML-N invited applications from party hopefuls for the upcoming Senate elections.

According to a press release issued by the PML-N spokesperson Asif Kirmani, the party has invited applications for the Senate elections to be held in March 2018.

The applications will be accepted starting from January 27 until February 3 at the party's Islamabad secretariat, the statement added.