Islamabad :
President Arif Ali addressing the signing ceremony of the Election Amendment Bill 2021 in an attempt to allay the fears of the opposition parties regarding possible misuse of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and rigging in the upcoming 2023 General Elections. “There is no need to be afraid of a simple electronic voting machine, it will help hold fair elections and eliminate fraud, a country develops only by adopting new things,” he said.
It may be recalled that the bill passed by the Parliament provides for the holding of next general elections through EVM as well as the right of Pakistanis abroad to vote through i-voting.
He said that EVM would ensure transparent elections which is a long standing desire of Pakistan as after every election there are allegations of controversy and rigging which also affects the credibility of the next government.
He said that after winning the next elections, EVMs would be offered for sale as a “product of Pakistan”.
Calling it a “good step”, the President said that due to the hard work of Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cabinet members, legislation was made possible despite fierce resistance.
He said that instead of printing ballot papers, print out of votes could be taken from EVM on the spot which would eliminate printing of additional ballot papers.
He also claimed that people will easily understand how to vote from EVM, they will be able to vote by touching the screen instead of stamping the ballot paper, it is the same process so why resist it. ?
The President said that in order to get the correct results, the votes would be counted from the calculator in the machine and there was an option of manual counting on any doubt.
He clarified that the Ministry of Science and Technology is not a manufacturer of electronic voting machine, it has made a prototype machine, the Election Commission will decide what kind of machine it needs.
Talking about the facility of i-voting for Pakistanis abroad, the President ruled out the possibility of hacking and referred to the digital transaction figures for the year 2018 which was 50 50 trillion per day. Is less likely than a shipwreck.
The President also said that the countries which have rejected EVMs have better systems than before. On the contrary, Pakistan needed this technology due to the weaknesses of the system.
At the same time, he said, the EVM would help dispel the confusion created by allegations of post-election rigging and form a strong government to support democracy.
The President said, “Don’t worry, the people (using EVMs) will be convinced, after which the country will develop in other areas as well.”
