President Dr Arif Alvi has promulgated the ‘Elections (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2021’ paving the way to hold next general election through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and enabling overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote.
The incumbent government deserves praise for taking this unprecedented step in the entire electoral history of the country. But it must not lose sight of the fact that electronic voting remains a contentious issue because several countries have tried this system but stopped mainly because of growing complaints about the issues associated with this system’s security and reliability. The government will therefore be required to make the right or appropriate spending in this system to address the areas of update, maintenance and security. More importantly, it must keep persuading the opposition parties to accept this change wholeheartedly.
Haroon Rashid (Lahore)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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