The Pakistani Election Commission (ECP) said on Wednesday that it would convene a conference of political parties to discuss and gain their confidence in the use of technology in elections.
According to a statement released by the ECP, a meeting between the organisation and the Ministry of Science and Technology was held today, with the latter set to demonstrate a prototype of an electronic voting system (EVM).
The ministry, on the other hand, has requested extra time and stated that final work on the machine will be completed by the third week of July, following which it will be handed over to the ECP.
The ECP thanked the ministry for its assistance, but added that before moving to electronic voting, it will consult with relevant stakeholders, including citizens and political parties.
In a separate meeting, ECP officials were briefed on NADRA’s internet voting mechanism by the secretary and officials of the science ministry, as well as representatives from a Spanish consultant firm.
The internet voting method of NADRA was compared to that of France, Estonia, and Mexico at the meeting. The meeting was informed that France had abandoned the i-voting technology, although Estonia and Mexico continued to use it.
The consulting group advised ECP officials that NADRA’s system was inadequate and suggested technological improvements.
Later, the chief election commissioner summoned a meeting next week to deliberate over the detailed report provided to the ECP by the Spanish consultancy firm.
Source: Geo News
