By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday displayed a preliminary model of an electronic voting machine (EVM) at the Parliament House, Islamabad.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Dr. Babar Awan and Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Information Faisal Javed Khan presented the prototype machine.
Briefing the media about the EVM, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the thirty-six 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 level allegations of rigging. The Minister invited the opposition parties, including the PPP and the PML-N, to observe the 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. Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the EVM model will also be presented before members of bar associations to seek their input.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. 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 electronic voting machine models; three have been imported and two others are being manufactured in Pakistan. He said the ECP will finalize the model of the machine.
The use of machine was also demonstrated before the representatives of the Parliamentary Reporters Association on the occasion.
