Open ballot: No need to ‘amend Constitution’ NA speaker submits statement in presidential reference case An AFP file image ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has backed the federal government’s plan to hold the Senate elections through open ballot without amending the Constitution. The speaker, through Secretary Assembly Lateef Yousafzai, submitted a concise statement in the Supreme Court hearing presidential reference case on Wednesday. “It is highly desirable that voting for the Senate be held through open or traceable vote rather than secret ballot so as to strengthen parliamentary democracy of which political parties are lynchpin," says the statement.