Chief Election Commissioner Highlighted The Need Of Trusted Technology In Elections

In a recent meeting regarding the right to vote to overseas Pakistanis and the introduction of Electronic Voting Machines in polls, the Election Commission of Pakistan highlighted that the technology must be secure in order to ensure the transparency and fairness of elections.

In the meeting, several plans were discussed regarding the future of voting which involved the development of an EVM by the Ministry of Science and Technology by May 31st and even provides a proper demo. Moreover, a committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of the ECP secretary who will cover all the progress done in regards to the implementation of the EVM.

However, there were reports that suggested the concept of internet voting for overseas Pakistanis and EVMs in the cabinet and parliament. This concept was something that President Dr. Arif Alvi had been convincing the ECP for the use of EVM and grant of the right to vote overseas.

As a result, the ECP had finally conducted a mock exercise for voting by overseas Pakistanis in only four countries in 2015. However, certain issues came about due to technical and legal reasons.

In a nutshell, in order to make EVMs in the future, the government will have to work on their sophistication.