Given the alleged widespread electoral fraud occurring in nearly all elections and by-elections in Pakistan since 1977, the time has come for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to examine alternative voting systems. The days of paper ballots and manual hand counting are nearly extinct, we need to find a system that is efficient and limits the elements of fraud and rigging. To strengthen the democratic process in Pakistan, we should switch to an electronic voting system as used in several different countries.
The first use of electronic voting machines was in the U.S. in 1975. While the U.S. had used mechanical voting machines and punch-card voting since the 1960s, it was not until the 1990s that the use of electronic voting machines became more widespread, and countries such as Belgium, Brazil, India, and the Netherlands started to employ them in increasing numbers.
Internet voting systems have gained popularity and use for government elections and referendums in the United Kingdom, Estonia, and Switzerland as well as municipal elections in Canada and party primary elections in the United States and France.
Overall, 31 countries have used electronic voting machines (EVMs) for binding political elections and referenda. Of the 31, 11 countries currently use them and only four (Brazil, India, Bhutan, and Venezuela) use them for the entire electorate.
Both Brazil and India have been using an electronic voting system for over a decade and have significantly benefited from electronic voting as it has improved the quality of their elections. There is opposition in both countries regarding the use of electronic voting but up to now, not been able to gather much force. Also, both countries actively market their voting machines with neighboring countries, sometimes offering to loan them for free. This promotion of the advantages of electronic voting by such influential global and regional powers may be one of the factors accounting for these trends in South America and Asia.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) must address the issue of rigging and voter apathy. We need to boost participation in our democracy by easing the voting process to increase voter turnout in both general elections and by-elections.
An electronic voting system like the one in India and Brazil is the answer especially with a population that is highly illiterate like Pakistan. ECP should employ directing recording electronic voting machines (DRE) integrated with biometric data for voter verification and machine activation which is possible in the Pakistani context as NADRA has such data of fingerprints along with a paper audit trail in the beginning. The use of biometrics would curtail the threat of “stuffing” the electronic ballot box.
For the electronic voting system to succeed, the ECP will need to play a key role in advocating such a system to limit fraud and trust issues surrounding results. The ECP must acquire the needed IT expertise to understand and operate an electronic system and, secure it from hacking. One critical role of the ECP would be to garner the support of voters and political parties for an electronic voting system. It must assuage the fears of both stakeholders when it comes to the trust and reliability of the system in ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. That is why ECP needs to consult with stakeholders to gain support for the adoption of an electronic system. Another critical function of the Election Commission would be voter education so that voters know how to use the machines properly.
To strengthen the future of democracy and to prevent hijacking or theft of votes, we need to change the voting process by using the technology available and already in use in countries such as Brazil and India. We must restore the faith of Pakistanis in the integrity of the electoral process or face the prospects of reverting to dictatorships. This is the time for the voters to demand a better voting system and for the political parties and ECP to step up to the challenge.
I must appreciate the efforts of the Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary in developing an electronic voting machine. At least, he took the initiative to come up with a solution to vote-rigging and fraud.
The self-proclaimed ‘champions of democracy’ like PPP, PMLN, and the rest of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) raise nice-sounding slogans about conducting fair and free elections and ‘honoring the vote’ but will they walk the talk to support electronic voting with biometric voter-verification? The credibility of the ECP and PDM is at stake if both oppose an e-voting system for the next general election.
