ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani senate parliamentary committee rejected on Friday a proposal by the government to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next general elections.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) earlier this week submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs a list of 37 objections, warning that a hasty use of these devices could jeopardize the “conduct of free, fair, credible and transparent elections” in the country.
The ECP said a largescale deployment of EVMs was not possible in a short span of time, especially when they had not been properly tested and provided no ballot secrecy, voter anonymity and necessary transparency at various levels.
Despite the objections, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special adviser on parliamentary affairs Senator Babar Awan said on Thursday the government was fully determined to do the required legislation to use these machines in the 2023 general elections.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan will not back down from e-voting and EVMs, nor will his government,” he told reporters.
During Friday’s Senate committee meeting, he accused the ECP of “shying away from fulfilling its national responsibility.”
The Senate body eventually voted against the Election Act Amendment Bill after Senate members from the ruling party walked out of the meeting to protest to the committee chairman’s refusal to hold the vote.
