EVM question

Electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been approved by the joint session of parliament. Two questions come to mind. One, how will the government arrange the initial investment for such a large number of EVMs, given the current state of the country’s economy? Two, how will the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ensure transparency of the election results?

In the past, EVMs were introduced in many countries – only to be subsequently dropped. Canadian federal, provincial and municipal elections still use paper/pencil voting systems; however, an automatic vote counter scanner is used for transparency. The government should have looked for similar ways of automation for counting votes rather than pushing for EVMs which will be difficult to use for a majority of voters due to the fact that most people are not technologically literate.

Anas A Khan

Edmonton, Canada