The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday seemed unsure about using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next polls.
The observation from the ECP came during a meeting of the members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
During the meeting, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha said the bill introduced electronic voting without omitting the condition of manual voting, which meant that at present the Elections Act allowed both electronic and manual voting in elections, reports Dawn.
He said the proposed EVM lacked a biometric verification facility and it would rely on manual verification. As a result, “someone can cast vote on the computerised national identity card of a dead man”, he added.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan on Thursday said that the EVM “system can be activated within a month”.
The senator’s statement came during Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk” while advocating the use of EVMs in the next general elections. He said that the EVMs are “just a one-time expense”.
“There will be no more expenditure in the future,” said Faisal Javed.
