Electoral Reforms in Pakistan: Use of Electronic Voting Machine and Right to Vote for Pakistanis Abroad Rejected by Standing Committee
The Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in Pakistan's upper house, the Senate, has rejected a bill to use electronic voting machines and give Pakistanis living abroad the right to vote in the country's upcoming general elections.
A government minister has accused the Election Commission of taking bribes and hinted at presenting the bill in a joint sitting of parliament. A joint sitting of parliament is expected on September 13. The ruling party has passed the bill in the National Assembly by a majority.
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| Electronic Voting Machine ( Credit : Pixabay ) |
The Election Commission has also expressed its concerns over the use of this machine and has submitted 37 points in this regard in writing to the Standing Committee. Swati has been accused by the Federal Prime Minister of Railways of taking bribes from the Election Commission, adding that such institutions should be set on fire. Election Commission officials have convened a meeting of the Election Commission on September 13 following the allegations made by the Federal Minister.
What happened in today's meeting of the Standing Committee?
A meeting of the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, chaired by Senator Taj Haider, was to vote on the electoral reform bill. After the meeting began, Federal Minister for Railways Senator Azam Swati raised the question that Senator Samina Mumtaz of Balochistan Awami Party was in a deep depression as her participation in the committee was objected to.
Leave this matter alone because if he gave any rolling call on this, the sanctity of the post of Chairman Senate would be violated. It is to be noted that Senator Samina Mumtaz belonging to Balochistan Awami Party was made a member of this committee by the Chairman Senate using her discretionary powers while there is no such instance in the Rules of Business of the Senate.
Azam Swati then raised the question of including the said senator in the voting, to which Senator Taj Haider said that any member must be present during the voting and if they come, they can cast their vote.
When members of the ruling party saw that it did not even have a numerical majority and that Senator Samina Mumtaz, a member of the ruling coalition, was not being taken online for voting, they formed a committee with federal ministers, including federal ministers.
The members walked out of the meeting of the standing committee. Following a boycott by members of the ruling party, the Standing Committee on Electoral Reforms, by a majority vote, rejected provisions on the use of electronic voting machines and the right to vote for Pakistanis living abroad during the upcoming general elections in the country.
While the clause declaring the seat of a member who did not take oath within 60 days of winning the election vacant will be applied, it will be applicable to the next general election.
Why are there differences of opinion among political parties about the voting machine?
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and especially Prime Minister Imran Khan have called for the use of electronic voting machines in the country's upcoming general elections. According to the Prime Minister, the use of voting machines will help in holding transparent elections and no one will object to the election results.
But it is objected that the government ordered the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop an electronic voting machine without taking the Election Commission and the opposition parties in Parliament into confidence. After the machine was ready, its practical demonstration was held in other forums including the Election Commission. Babar Awan, adviser to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, said the EVM had no link to the internet.
"Everything that comes out of this machine will fall into a transparent box," he said. According to Babar Awan, if there is any complaint of tampering in the electronic voting machine, it can be rectified on the spot. The government's position is that electronic voting machines are used in many countries of the world, including India, and all political parties recognize the results of these elections, so this machine is being introduced in Pakistan.
The government is of the view that it has written a letter to the Election Commission for budget, security and storage for the purchase of these machines, to which the Election Commission has not yet responded.
The position of the opposition parties in parliament say the government has not taken them into confidence on the issue of electoral reform and has voluntarily passed the electoral reform bill in the National Assembly.
According to PML-N leader and National Assembly member Shahnawaz Ranjha, the committee set up during his tenure on electoral reform has done a lot.
He said that all the political parties present in the parliament including PTI were represented in this committee. Shahnawaz Ranjha said that if the PTI government was serious about bringing electoral reforms, it could benefit from the recommendations of the parliamentary committee.
He said that if the Prime Minister of a country is not tolerant of even shaking hands with the Leader of the Opposition, then how can reforms be brought there unanimously. The PML-N National Assembly member said that electoral reform is a common issue of all political parties but the government wants to bring these reforms through bullying is not acceptable in any way.
Shahnawaz Ranjha said that many countries of the world and especially European countries have rejected the use of electronic voting machines.
Concerns of the Election Commission
The Election Commission has expressed its concerns about the use of electronic voting machines in the Electoral Reform Bill and the forthcoming general elections, and said that in order to do so, it is necessary to amend the constitution, but the government passed the bill by a simple majority.
He insists on getting it approved by the parliament and implementing it. Election Commission officials have expressed their concerns about the use of EVMs in a 37-point written statement to the Senate Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. The biggest point of these concerns is that the electronic machine is not reliable and its use cannot prevent fraud and this machine can be hacked at any time.
The ECP also mentioned in its reservations that the software of this machine could be changed at any time. In addition, the ECP said that it is difficult to believe that every machine will work properly in one day. The Election Commission has said that due to low literacy rate in the country and lack of awareness among voters about the use of this machine, it would not be right to use this machine in elections.
The ECP has also mentioned in its reservations that there is very little time to train the staff of the ECP in the use of this machine. There is no consensus among the holdings, i.e. political parties, and in such a situation, the question of neutrality in the elections will arise.
In its reservations, the ECP said that the issue of electronic voting machines has been dealt with hastily and hastily, which is a negation of international standards. The ECP has also mentioned in its concerns about the electronic voting machine that it does not address low turnout of voters, misuse of state machinery, election rigging, deployment of dishonest polling staff and electioneering disputes.
Can stop The Election Commission has also mentioned in its reservations the European countries where the use of electronic voting has been stopped due to objections raised on this machine. These countries include Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France and Ireland.
Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, head of Paldit, an election watchdog, said the government was seeking electoral reform without trusting other stakeholders to make it controversial before the country's general election. There is a step towards.
He said that it was beyond his comprehension why Prime Minister Imran Khan was insisting on the use of electronic voting machines while other stakeholders were opposing it. He said that as the bitterness in the country's politics was increasing and political differences were turning into personal differences, bringing unanimous electoral reforms in such a situation was tantamount to gambling.