ECP is responsible to use EVM in next elections: Shibli Faraz
Shibli said it is prerogative of ECP to select EVM either the locally manufactured or imported one.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Senator Syed Shibli Faraz Thursday said, it is the responsibility of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold next general elections through Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
"The EVM shown to the ECP by his ministry was just a model or an idea. Now it is the prerogative of the ECP to select EVM either the locally manufactured or imported one", he said during a news conference.
The minister said, opposition parties were repeatedly requested to check the EVM and give their feedback to make it more viable.
"We have tried our best to include opposition in this process as they are also the stakeholders but they criticized EVM even without knowing and checking it", he said.
The opposition was interested in old election process to continue with all possibilities of rigging and electoral fraud through which they won the elections in the past.
He again asked the opposition parties to give their suggestions to the ECP regarding EVM for improvement, if they want to make the electoral process of this country transparent and non-controversial.
He said ECP can respond to the reservations of opposition parties regarding EVM.
The minister said that the EVM offers solutions to all such issues which make the election controversial.
The processes involved from the start of the polling process to compilation of results will be executed in a short time through this technology.
Since the legislation has passed, this is the responsibility of the ECP to select the most viable EVM for conducting elections. The EVM can be locally manufactured or imported as per ECP decision, he said.
He said that the government as well as the Ministry of Science and Technology is ready to extend every kind of facilitation in this regard.
"Ensuring rigging free and non-controversial elections in the country is a national cause for which we are ready to support ECP", he said.
Shibli Faraz hoped ECP would fulfill its responsibility and enhance its capacity as the whole electoral system will witness a transitional phase.
The ministry has given demonstrations on EVM in the provincial assemblies as well as the parliament and taken all the stakeholders into confidence.
Despite the fact the Prime Minister Imran Khan invited opposition parties on the floor of the house to play their role in this process but they adopted the policy of criticism for the sake of criticism.
"Our government has fulfilled the promise of giving the right to vote to the 90,00,000 overseas Pakistanis", he said.
