Staff Reporter Islamabad
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday censured the Election Commission of Pakistan for opposing electronic voting machines (EVMs) and electoral reforms.
The prime minister’s comments came during his address to members of the parliament, where he laid emphasis on electoral reforms, saying that EVMs were necessary for free and fair elections.
The premier said that over the past 50 years, Pakistan had failed at conducting elections that were free, fair, transparent, and acceptable to all parties.
The decision to introduce EVMs was not made overnight, he said, noting that his government had studied election reports and came to the conclusion that EVMs were the solution to stopping rigging.
“As soon as the elections are over, the result is in front of you. If someone wants to verify the [results], then they can check the paper trail,” the prime minister said.
He pointed out that the government had invited the Opposition on multiple occasions to discuss the electoral reforms, but they refused to be a part of it, and neither did they propose another solution.
“In the last 1.5 years, have they not helped the government, they did not bring any proposals; they just boycotted sessions,” the prime minister said.
The prime minister wondered why had the election commission opposed the EVMs, as it was their job to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections in the country.“They provided strange reasons: What if there is no electricity in Balochistan, what if this happens, what if that happens,” he said.
