President Dr. Arif Alvi says the Election Commission of Pakistan, will make the final decision on the deployment of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections (ECP).
The president was chairing a meeting of the sub-committee on new technologies in i-voting, according to a press statement. He said that government organizations will assist the ECP in carrying out the electoral reform process in a transparent way.
President Alvi also asked for the ECP’s concerns about changing the election rules to be addressed. He emphasized that the ability to vote was a fundamental right of every person and that it could not be taken away from them because of the system’s flaws.
Syed Aminul Haq, Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication (IT&T), Azam Khan Swati, Secretary Ministry of IT&T Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput, Acting Chairman NADRA Brig (retd) Khalid Latif, DG (IT) ECP Khizer Aziz, and other government officials attended the meeting.
The president, speaking at the conference, emphasized the need of amending current election rules so that about 9 million Pakistanis living abroad may exercise their right to vote in accordance with Supreme Court of Pakistan directives.
He emphasized the need for better communication among the parties involved in order to clear up any misunderstandings regarding i-voting for Pakistanis living abroad. Azam Khan Swati told the audience that 49 changes to the Elections Act, 2017, were integrated into the Act with the approval of the ECP and that this time the relevant organizations should also support the continuing reforms to guarantee the election process’ openness and legitimacy.
PM Imran Khan said EVMs are the only way to avoid election fraud.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan stated on Thursday that electronic voting machines (EVMs) are the only way to avoid election fraud and guarantee electoral integrity.
Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz, Senate Leader Dr. Shehzad Wasim, Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, and Advisor to the Prime Minister Babar Awan were among those who attended a briefing on the use of electronic voting machines in Pakistani elections.
The PM was briefed in detail on the progress achieved so far in the employment of electronic voting machines and electoral reform legislation. He reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring openness in the use of electronic voting machines, as well as to complying with all constitutional obligations.
“Overseas Pakistanis are an asset to the country; they must be involved in the election process,” he added. The prime minister emphasized that electoral reforms, electronic voting, and the voting process for overseas Pakistanis should be completed soon.
