consensus over EVMs to enable overseas Pakistanis cast their vote
Zubair Qureshi
President Dr Arif Alvi while chairing a meeting held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday to discuss requirements and specifications of Electronic Voting Machines underlined the need for expediting the process of electoral reforms in line with the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to enable Overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes through internet-voting (i-voting).
The president said that the Federal Government wanted to facilitate and support the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in implementing the electoral reforms, particularly i-voting for Overseas Pakistanis and using EVMs in elections.
He expressed the hope that i-voting and EVMs would greatly help in promoting transparency and ensuring credibility of the electoral process in the country.
The meeting was attended by the Federal Minister for Railways, Mr Azam Khan Swati, Secretary ECP, Dr Akhtar Nazir, Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr Nadeem Irshad Kayani, and senior officials of the Government of Pakistan.
Ministry of Science and Technology briefed the meeting about the specifications and design of EVM.
The Ministry informed that it was actively working on designing the prototype EVM as per existing specifications provided by concerned stakeholders.
The President appreciated the efforts of the relevant organizations in supporting the electoral reform process.
