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ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has asserted that the upcoming general elections in the country would take place under a ‘new mechanism’ and consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was underway in this regard.
“Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz would hold a practical demonstration of the Electronic Voting Machine this week,” Fawad Chaudhry said while talking to journalists after holding a meeting with ECP officials in Islamabad today (Monday).
Giving details regarding the meeting with ECP officials, the Information Minister said, “We discussed the proposed legislation for electoral reforms, electronic voting machines (EVMs), biometric system and e-voting.”
He further announced that details of the proposed 49 amendments in the Electoral Reforms Bill were shared with the ECP. “After the demonstration, the authority will appoint a consultant to generate an opinion in the matter,” he added.
Fawad Chaudhry said that the ministry of information was working day and night on the matter of EVMs. “The government had pledged to provide overseas Pakistanis with the right to franchise as they had an important role in national development,” he added.
On June 4, officials privy to the development revealed that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf intends to unveil the production model of EVM on Independence Day.
Sources said that the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) along with the COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) and the National Institute of Electronics (NIE) teams had already developed EVMs and presented them in the parliament, and were now working to make the EVMs better technically as and aesthetically.
Shehbaz rejects EVMs proposal
Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif had turned down the government’s proposal to use electronic voting machines in the next general elections.
“The electronic voting system has been declared a failure by the entire world,” the former Punjab chief minister had said, adding that electoral reforms are undertaken with consultations of all key stakeholders, the public’s opinion and by developing a consensus.
He had said the PML-N had undertaken electoral reforms in 2018 via consultations with all political parties in the country, including the PTI. “No one had any reservations with the electoral reforms undertaken during our era,” he had said.
