The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has written a letter to the government, demanding money in order to produce electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the upcoming general elections of 2023.
As per the ECP’s stated demand, at least 800,000 EVMs will be mass produced for the upcoming general elections, which requires a lot of money.
In addition, the ECP has also asked the government to provide a warehouse where 800,000 EVMs can be kept safely.
The letter stated that “ECP looks to develop proper infrastructure for the elections and monitor the entire process without any difficulty. For the development of infrastructure, ECP has requested the government to release the funds as soon as possible.”
It is pertinent to note that earlier this week, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that the federal cabinet has formed a committee to form liaison with the ECP to ensure implementation of the recently passed legislation on electoral reforms.
Chaudhry had announced that the next general elections would “surely be held” through EVMs, adding that overseas Pakistanis would be able to cast their votes as well.
It must be noted that earlier this month, the government convened a joint sitting of Parliament, in which the bill pertaining to the usage of EVMs in the elections and the right to vote to the Pakistanis living abroad was approved.
The Information minister stated that a ministerial committee has been formed which comprises of Parliamentary Affairs Adviser Babar Awan, Railways Minister Azam Swati, Science and Technology Minister Shibli Faraz, Information Technology Minister Aminul Haq and Attorney-General Khalid Jawed Khan.
The minister went on to add that the committee will liaise with the ECP to ensure implementation of the recently passed laws, while finalizing all the nitty-gritty on use of the EVMs in the next election such as cost, numbers of machines and others.
However, despite the passage of bill, the ECP was still not sure if EVMs will actually be used in the next polls or not. The development had been revealed during a meeting of the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana.
MNA Aalia Kamran raised some very pertinent questions, including how the EVMs would be used in areas without internet.
“[The] people of Balochistan barely go to cast votes. How will they cast a vote on an EVM?” she had asked.
The ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan had told lawmakers that it took India 20 years and Brazil 22 years to start using these machines, explaining that it will also take them “a while” to get EVMs fully functional.
While elaborating further, Khan stated that EVMs would have to go through 14 steps before they can be used in the next general elections. There would be three to four more pilot projects related to the use of the EVMs, he had maintained.
He went on to add that there are challenges in using EVMs and they cannot say anything with surety on whether the use of EVMs will be applicable in the next elections or not.
“How many EVMs will there be at a polling station also remains to be figured out,” he had said, adding that the state institution is working to facilitate overseas Pakistanis.
