ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday displayed preliminary model of an electronic voting machine at the Parliament House Islamabad and invited the opposition to observe the facility.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information Faisal Javed Khan presented the prototype machine.
Briefing the media about the EVM, Fawad Chaudhry said the 36 conditions of the Election Commission of Pakistan have been fulfilled in this model of the EVM. He said the EVM will produce quick election results and the contesting candidates will have no reason to raise allegations of rigging.
The minister invited the opposition parties, including the PPP and the PML-N, to observe working of the machine placed at the Parliament House and suggest any improvements.
He said EVMs are being used in twenty countries of the world. He said the EVM model will also be presented before members of bar associations to seek their input.
Speaking on the occasion, Babar Awan said EVM will provide a remedy to the cancer of rigging allegations in elections in the country. He said there are five proposed EVM models; three have been imported and two others are being manufactured in Pakistan. He said the ECP will finalize the model of the machine.
He said under the directions of the Prime Minister, the ECP has been empowered to use EVMs in elections and give right of vote to the overseas Pakistanis. The use of machine was also demonstrated before the representatives of the Parliamentary Reporters Association on the occasion.
