The federal government plans to acquire 400,000 local and imported Electronic Voting Machines for the general elections in 2023.
This was disclosed by the Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology on Thursday.
He informed the committee that a locally-developed Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) costs Rs. 70,000 but the cost of the imported ones has not been determined.
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Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Sajid Mehdi chaired the meeting that was convened to debate the government-proposed election reforms and the introduction of electronic voting in the 2023 elections.
Minister Faraz apprised the committee that EVMs are easy to use and will eliminate the rigging factor in future general elections. He added that it is “waterproof, weather-resistant, and cannot be hacked due to its non-connectivity with the Internet,” and told the opposition lawmakers to avoid unnecessary criticism and forward suggestions for improvements in the EVMs.
The members of the committee criticized the proposal, stating that the new electoral system could have “certain loopholes to ensure transparent elections”.
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The chairman said that many villagers will find it difficult to operate the machine, and suggested calling an all-party meeting to reach a consensus on EVMs.
The meeting was attended by lawmakers, including Usman Khan Taraki, Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Abdul Shakoor Shad, Sobia Kamal Khan, Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Malik, Zaib Jaffar, Dr. Samina Matloob, Khursheed Ahmed Junejo, Sikandar Ali Rahoupoto, and senior officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology.
