Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry displayed electronic voting machine (EVM) in a briefing to Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Wednesday. The EVM is locally made. Chaudhry claimed that the machine was manufactured by his ministry in collaboration with the COMSATS and the National Institute of Electronics.
The meeting was told that several tests of the EVM had been conducted and the results were encouraging, said the PM Office press release.
The premier was briefed that the machine would help conduct fair, free and transparent elections in the country.
PM Khan lauded the efforts of the ministry of science and technology and allied organizations for manufacturing the EVM.
“It is unfortunate that questions were raised over all elections held in the past in the country, which has not only harmed the election process but also shattered the confidence of the people. Now the country cannot afford any such faulty election system,” he said.
He directed the ministry of science and technology to further equip the EVM with latest technology and fool proof security features.
However, a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), who requested anonymity, claimed that the machine was nine years old and “unreliable”.
“[Contrary to this] The ECP has a latest EVM, has conducted its pilot testing and submitted its report to the parliament but no decision has been taken on it,” he told media.
He claimed that the ECP machines were not laboratory products rather they were ISO standard factory products.
“ECP’s machine has more features than that of MoST’s,” he added.
