FROM ALI IMRAN
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has agreed to hold local bodies elections in the Punjab province via electronic voting machines (EVMs) and conveyed that it would require 205,000 machines to conduct the electoral process.
The decision was taken in a meeting headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja where matters related to local bodies elections and delimitations in Punjab were discussed.
The secretary local government Punjab briefed the meeting on local government ordinance to which special secretary ECP recommended some changes in it.
The ECP while agreeing to hold local bodies elections through EVMs said that they have no objection to the use of machines, however, they could only be used if approved by the federal and concerned provincial government.
It further said that the province would need 205,000 machines to hold the process and the ECP would follow all rules and regulations for acquiring the machines from the open market.
It further said that it however seems impossible to buy such a large quantity of machines within 120 days, that is the requirement of holding local bodies polls after the dissolution of the previous setup.
“However, it is possible to hold elections on some neighbourhood and village councils through EVMs under a pilot project,” they said.
