President Alvi lays emphasis on simplifying I-voting

ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi has laid emphasis on simplifying the internet voting (I-voting) registration process for the Pakistani expatriates and he said the process must be ensured while developing the electronic voting system (EVS).

While chairing a meeting to review progress on the EVS, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, Arif Alvi said that the system should be efficient, possessing the technical capacity to cater to a large number of overseas voters on poll-day.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary IT and Telecommunication Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary to President Tariq Najeeb Najmi and Chairman National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Usman Yousaf Mobin. Officials from the Election Commission of Pakistan and NADRA were also present.

The president ordered that a committee of experts be formed to assess the technical capacity and reliability of the system and to propose possible solutions. Arif Alvi said that the I-voting system should be transparent and people should have complete confidence in it.

He also highlighted the importance of maintaining voters’ secrecy and fulfilling all the legal requirements. The president was briefed about the measures being taken for establishing an effective and reliable I-Voting system for overseas Pakistanis.

It was apprised that all steps were being taken for the development of a foolproof voting system. The president was also briefed about the technical efficacy, secrecy and safety aspects of the system.

The EVS being developed had been pilot tested in the bye-elections, the meeting was informed, and independent evaluation of the system would also be conducted.

The meeting underscored the primacy of putting the system to test prior to poll-day to detect and overcome any technical issues.

NADRA representative gave a detailed briefing to the participants on the I-voting system for the overseas Pakistanis. An electronic demonstration of three steps, including registration, verification and vote casting procedure for the ex-pats was also given during the meeting.