ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan has asked the Ministry of Science and Technology to prepare to install electronic voting machines (EVMs) to hold election of Islamabad Mayor.
In a letter written to the ministry, the ECP has suggested use of 3,900 EVMs to be installed at 800 polling stations in the capital city for Mayor’s election.
With this decision, the ECP has ended controversy pertaining to the use of EVMs in the next elections in the country.
Earlier, the federal government had issued an ordinance for using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming local government elections in Islamabad.
According to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Ordinance, 2021, the mayor of Islamabad will be elected directly. The mayor will be elected for the tenure of four years. After the ordinance, the use of EVMs will become mandatory for the local body elections.
Meanwhile, Minister of Science and Technology Shibli Faraz has said that now the time has arrived to use modern technology for elections. He also assured pilot testing of EVMs.
President Arif Alvi also highlighted the importance of technology usage whether it would be about voting or others.
