ECP to reconsider use of electronic machines in upcoming elections

ISLAMABAD: Electronic voting seemed still a distant dream in Pakistan as the Election Commission of Pakistan has proposed to review the decision about use of electronic voting machines (EVMS) and biometric verification machines (BVMs) in the upcoming general election.

Sources said the ECP feared that hackers can sabotage election process in the country in the same way as they had done in France by hacking data on a large scale.

They said the commission would review the use of modern technologies in elections in its upcoming meeting.

The ECP had earlier decided to opt for electronic voting in the next general elections in 2018 and struck a deal to procure EVMs and BVMs.

It was launching electronic voting machines to address the issues arising from magnetized ink and balloting in elections.

The commission had said each machine would cost about $300. Around 70,000 polling stations were set up in the last general elections and each of them had two booths. Thus, it would have to obtain 150,000 machines.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had also reiterated the government’s intention to introduce technology in the election process to iron out loopholes in the electoral process.