In recent news, the Minister for Science and Technology, Shibli Faraz, had stated that his ministry had finally developed the electronic voting machine which will make the electoral process fair and transparent.
According to the minister:
“The electronic voting machine has been developed according to requirements of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Today we have briefed the Cabinet about this new device and its benefits.”
“The use of technology in elections will be helpful for the losing candidate to recognize the results. The machine has no internet and no operating system. Due to the Internet and software vulnerabilities, it is free from external interference. The machine will soon be shown to the cabinet, opposition parties, parliament, and the Election Commission.”
These voting machines were developed by, using indigenous technologies, National University for Science and Technology, COMSATS University Islamabad, and National Institute of Engineering (NIE). All three of these institutions were tasked to develop the respective machines.
Moreover, the three departments had the capacity to manufacture 2000 machines where the machines coster around Rs. 65,000 each. This is basically half the price of the casual voting machine having imported components.
As of now, the machines are being tested to ensure the devices do not face any cyber-attacks and where information would remain anonymous and encrypted.
