Petition filed against EVMs in Islamabad High Court

States that ECP has submitted 37 objections before the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs

ISLAMABAD:

A petition was filed in Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the next general elections in spite of several objections of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against their potential use.

The petition stated that the ECP has a constitutional responsibility to hold transparent elections in the country and the federal government should be prevented from interfering in its work.

A concerned citizen Tariq Asad Advocate filed the petition in which the Federal Government has been made a party through the Ministry of Science and Technology, Secretary ECP and Federal Secretary Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

The petition states that the ECP has rejected the proposal to hold the next general elections through EVMs and has submitted 37 objections before the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. It further stated that according to the ECP, rigging cannot be stopped through the use of EVMs and that most European countries had banned their use.

The petition mentioned that apart from the PTI, all other political parties and the ECP itself are against the use of electronic voting machines and that the rural uneducated population in the country is unfamiliar with the use of such technology.

The petition also seeks a detailed report from the ECP on the objections to the use of electronic voting machines.

The petition demanded that the federal government should be prevented from interfering in the work of the ECP on the 2023 Elections and that the federal government should be advised to hold a public referendum on the use of EVMs.