ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja has approached Prime Minister Imran Khan for allocation of space for the establishment of Project Management Unit (PMU) to introduce technology — Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and i-voting - in the elections, and has recommended four different avenues for this purpose.
In this context, the CEC has written a letter to the PM wherein the former has suggested that the guest rooms of Pakistan Academy of Sciences and Pakistan Cotton Standard Institute, a vacant floor of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the building of Sir Syed Memorial Society can be used for the establishment of PMU, it is learnt.
The letter states that the work for recruitment of the information technology (IT) professionals is in its final stage and the IT teams will work for the use of technology in the electoral process for the EVMs and i-voting.
Earlier on Thursday, the ECP said it needs up to 258 billion rupees for the procurement of EVMs, and proposed four options for i-voting for overseas Pakistanis—internet voting, postal voting, online voting in embassies/high commissions and electronic postal ballot voting.
These proposals were moved in the reports of the three committees the electoral body has formed regarding the EVMs and i-voting.
All the three committees have submitted their reports to the ECP.
In a meeting presided over by the CEC on Thursday, Secretary ECP Omar Hamid Khan briefed the commission regarding the EVMs procurement and their use.
He also briefed the meeting on the need for additional parliamentary legislation regarding implementation of EVMs. The meeting was also briefed on the four major options of i-voting for overseas Pakistanis –and other options including electoral college, and reserved seats for overseas Pakistanis in elections.
The ECP, on 23rd November 2021, announced to have formed three committees led by its top officials over EVMs and i-voting.
According to the electoral body, the Technical Committee comprises of secretary ECP dealing with the scope of the EVMs and i-voting.
The Financial Committee is led by Additional Secretary (Admin) Manzoor Akhtar Malik that deals with finances regarding the EVMs and i-voting.
The Legal Committee is led by ECP Director General (Law) Muhammad Arshad regarding implementation of laws on the EVMs and i-voting, and problems being faced in this regard.
Also on 23rd November 2021, scores of overseas Pakistanis, accompanied by close aides of Prime Minister Imran Khan, assembled at the ECP, submitted a memorandum with the electoral body, demanding the provision of i-voting facility to overseas Pakistanis - and extended their gratitude to the PM and his government for recent parliamentary legislation that grants voting right to millions of overseas Pakistanis.
On November 17, 2021, in a landmark move, the federal government got the Elections Second (Amendment) Bill, 2021 passed by the joint session of the parliament. This legislation grants voting right to overseas Pakistanis besides providing for the introduction of the EVMs in the general elections.
The move has been widely lauded by overseas Pakistanis and public circles in Pakistan. However, just a day after the passage of Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021 by the parliament, the secretary ECP, on November 18, said that the electoral body was ‘unsure’ whether or not the 2023 general elections would be held on the EVMs.
He disclosed this in the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice chaired by Riaz Fatyana from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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