ECP CONSIDERS ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE (EVM) FOR ELECTIONS IN PAKISTAN
Islamabad, the 2nd June 2010.- Mr. Ishtiak Ahmed Khan, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has stated that the ECP, over the past few months, has been working to assess the feasibility of introducing electronic voting machines (EVM) in Pakistan. The ECP has made significant progress on the feasibility study and intends to issue a final report by the end of July, after consultation with political parties and civil society, and a demonstration by the interested EVM suppliers.
The Secretary, while referring to the five-year Strategic Plan 2010-14 of the ECP that is the outcome of consultation with various stakeholders, elaborated that the ECP is examining to implement the Strategic Plan including introduction of EVM as this issue was also raised by the Political Parties in the meeting with ECP on March 30, 2010.
Technology is increasingly used in support of the electoral process, and the act of voting is no exception, the Secretary added. In India EVMs have been used in pilot projects since the 1980’s, and have more recently been introduced nationwide for all national and state elections. Bangladesh is also in the process of developing its own EVM, as is Thailand. However, the use of EVMs has not been without its problems elsewhere in the world. Several countries have rejected the use of EVMs entirely, despite using them previously, including Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany. The United States has largely moved towards paper ballot systems with electronic counting technologies.
The ECP established an EVM Feasibility Study Committee in December 2009 to assess the possibility of introducing EVMs in Pakistan while keeping in view the complexity and the attached issues with the EVM technology, the Secretary informed. This Committee has since been looking at such issues as; the strengths and weaknesses of the current system of paper balloting in Pakistan; the objectives to be achieved in changing the current system of paper balloting; the advantages and disadvantages of EVM technologies, and how they might meet the specific needs of Pakistan; the budgetary implications of using EVMs; and, the legal implications of using EVMs.
The work of the EVM Feasibility Study Committee is now nearing completion, with preliminary recommendations being drafted. Before finalizing its report, the ECP intends to hold an EVM Vendor Demonstration by the end of June, 2010. The Political Parties and other stakeholders will be invited to see this demonstration. The demonstration will allow a sample of EVM suppliers to demonstrate their products and answer specific questions posed by the EVM Feasibility Study Committee. The final report is expected to be issued by the end of July 2010.