PESHAWAR: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz said that Local Government (LG) elections in Islamabad will be held through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday, Faraz said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has agreed and has informed the government about the number of EVMs required. The minister said, “Some machines will be provided to the ECP next week for training purpose.”
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Shibli Faraz, citing the example of the recent local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that 234,000 votes were rejected. According to him, if EVM had been used in election in KP, such a large number of votes would not have been rejected and the results would have been announced on time. He claimed that the EVMs would also ensure transparent elections.
The minister said that “incomplete” and partial misinformation was being published in some newspapers regarding EVMs for some days now. He was quoted by some media organisations as saying the EVMs were not designed for the local government election. “I want to make it clear that every elections through electronic voting machines will be fair and transparent,” he maintained. He said that they are moving towards implementation with a full working relationship with the election commission of Pakistan.
Referring to the local body elections in Punjab, Faraz said that the Chief Secretary has been directed by the ECP to resolve the administrative matters for the use of EVM in Punjab too. He hoped that the elections held through electronic voting machine will be transparent and accurate in all respects. Asked by the opposition about the objections to the EVMs, he said that the opposition was opposing it for the sake of opposition, claiming that they have not concrete evidence against the EVMs.