LG elections in Islamabad through EVMs, says Shibli

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz on Monday said the local government elections in Islamabad would be conducted through electronic voting machines (EVMs) as agreed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

The Ministry of Science and Technology will provide a specific number of EVMs to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) by the next week for testing purpose so that the ECP could train its staff and convey its observations, the minister said during a presser.

"The legislation regarding EVMs has been completed and now we have entered into the phase of implementation. The question of whether EVMs will be used in the elections or not is now meaningless, he said.

The minister stated that the ECP has conveyed the MoST about their requirements including the number of required EVMs for the local government elections in Islamabad. While the MoST has written a letter to the ECP, mentioning the breakdown of the machines which would be delivered to the ECP. The local government elections in Islamabad are likely to be held in April as per the law.

The federal minister said it is the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to conduct undisputed, accurate and transparent elections in the country while the EVM technology would fulfil all these requirements.

Referring to the elections held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month, Shibli Faraz said 234,000 votes were rejected. The use of EVMs could have ensured zero wastage of votes and accuracy of results, if used. For ensuring accuracy of election results, it is necessary to count each and every vote and prevent rejection of votes, the minister said.