ECP seeks project management unit space

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking space for its project management unit.

In the letter written by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, space and a building to set up the project management unit has been sought.

The chief election commissioner also proposed four different buildings for this purpose.

They include the guest room of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, the guest house of the PCSI, the vacant floor of the science and technology ministry and the building of the Sir Syed Memorial Society.

The letter read that the ECP was taking steps to use technology in the electoral process.

Information technology teams will work on using electronic voting machines (EVMs) and i-voting, it added.

According to the letter, the recruitment of IT professionals for setting up the unit was in its final stage.

On Thursday, the ECP was informed that further legislation would be required before EVMs and i-voting for overseas Pakistanis could be introduced.

The meeting chaired by the CEC was briefed by the ECP secretary on the findings of three committees that had been formed to implement the legislation on EVMs and i-voting.

Read CEC says ECP to test EVMs effectiveness in LB polls

The three committees were tasked with looking at different aspects of the matter -- one body examined the technical aspects, another looked at the cost of the process while the third one was to pinpoint the challenges and suggest amendments to existing laws and rules.

The CEC said at least four or six pilot projects would be conducted before opting for voting through EVMs, otherwise introducing the machines could be a disaster.

He also underlined the need for appropriate training for those who will be handling the EVMs as well as taking all stakeholders on board and developing voter trust in the new technology.

The ECP was briefed on the roadmap and plan of action of all phases of the procurement and use of EVMs, including storage, security, configuration and transportation of the machines during elections.

The meeting was told that the setting up of a project management unit had already been approved and an amount of Rs258 billion would be immediately required for the procurement of EVMs and related expenses.

On overseas voting, the committee proposed four options: i-voting, postal balloting, online voting at Pakistani missions abroad and postal e-voting. The committee also proposed reserved seats and a separate electoral college for overseas Pakistanis.

(With input from agencies)