ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry
has said on Tuesday that electoral reforms are essential for fair and transparent elections in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Fawad Chaudhry said that a briefing was given on i-voting and electronic voting machine in the cabinet meeting. Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed to resolve the issue of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the opposition.
The minister said giving right to vote to the overseas Pakistani is an important part of the electoral reforms in the country for which PTI government is working for so that no one can raise allegations of rigging after every polls.
Chaudhry said that electronic voting machine is the solution to many problems in elections. Ensuring transparency in elections is the government’s top priority. The dialogue should not be pointless but should be for resolving issues.
Fawad Chaudhry said that he was ready to hold talks with the opposition to resolve election-related issues.
Talks between the government and opposition parties in parliament are a welcome development, he added. The Prime Minister also directed to take the allied parties into confidence on the voting mission.
There is a disagreement between the federal government and the Election Commission of Pakistan over the use of EVMs in the elections.
“The EVMs cannot be used to conduct free and transparent elections in line with the Constitution,” the ECP had said during a meeting of a parliamentary committee of the Senate.
Explaining why the EVMs could not stop rigging, the ECP had said it can be hacked, the machine can be easily tampered with, and the software can be easily changed. “The machine can misuse state power, and it cannot prevent horse-trading”, the ECP maintained.
“There is no secrecy of the voter in the electronic voting machine; there is a lack of transparency; testing time before the next general election is less; stakeholders are not on board; people have not been taken into confidence,” the ECP had said.
