Senate election presidential ordinance based on 'malicious intent': Raza Rabbani

• PPP's Senator Raza Rabbani says President Arif Alvi "went against the Constitution" after he promulgated the open ballot ordinance
• Through the ordinance, the government paved the way for an opportunity to "undermine" the Upper House, he says
• President promulgated the ordinance to "control the hostility" within the government's ranks, Rabbani adds
  

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said Saturday that the PTI government's presidential ordinance to amend the secret-balloting method in the Senate elections was based on "malicious intent".

Turning his guns on the treasury benches during a Senate session today, the former Senate chairman said that President Arif Alvi "went against the Constitution" and "purposely" paved the way for an opportunity to "undermine" the Upper House.

Rabbani reiterated the Opposition's claim that the president had promulgated the ordinance to "control the hostility within their ranks". "This ordinance was promulgated to forward a political agenda."

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"Today is the Senate's first session after the issuance of the presidential ordinance. According to the Constitution, the ordinance should be presented in the first sitting after its issuance," he said.

Explaining why he believed that the ordinance was based on "malicious intent", Rabbani said that the government had not presented it in the National Assembly session yesterday, and neither was it moved in the Senate sitting today.

The PPP leader, asking the government why it had not taken the Opposition into confidence regarding the amendment bill, said: "After a debate took place on the amendment bill in the National Assembly, the government indefinitely adjourned National Assembly and Senate's sessions."

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The senator noted that an ordinance is a temporary legislation — its term is 120 days. "You (government) have made a mockery of the Senate elections."

"The ordinance was not presented out of fear that a resolution to reject it might have been presented," he added.