EVM use in Punjab local govt polls ruled out

ECP asks province to modify law accordingly

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday directed the Punjab government to amend the Local Government Act 2022 and related rules pertaining to the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and internet voting.

The ECP met here with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the chair. The meeting, attended by all the ECP members, the special secretary and other senior officers, discussed the matters pertaining to the local elections in Punjab and Islamabad.

The meeting was informed that the process of registration of electoral groups in Punjab would be completed by July 17. Officials said that the ECP had completed polling arrangements.

However, it was pointed out that the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the internet voting (i-voting) in the elections was unworkable. Officials said that the ECP had written several times to provincial government that the EVMs use was not possible.

Under Section 47(1) of the Punjab Local Government Act 2022, the local government elections will be held on EVMs and the voters will also have the facility of i-voting. The ECP said it could not provide the i-voting facility.

The Punjab government has amended the Rules 35(4) of the local government to allow the voting as per the Election Act 2017. The ECP said that the Local Government Act also needed amendments so that it did not come into conflict with the rules.

The ECP instructed for writing to the Punjab government to make the necessary amendments to the act in view of the federal government’s amendments to the sections 103 and 94 of the Election Act 2017 regarding EVMs and i-voting.

The ECP said that the local government elections in Punjab were subject to the amendment of the Local Government Act 2022 and Rules. It asked Punjab to make the amendments as soon as possible to ensure the immediate local elections in the province.

The interior ministry was instructed to provide rules on reserved seats and election expenses for federal capital’s local government elections by July 12

The meeting was informed that the ECP was fully prepared to conduct the local government elections in Islamabad in light of the order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) but it had not yet received certain notification from the interior ministry.

The CEC ordered for writing a letter to the interior ministry, seeking the notification of the number of reserved seats and the election expenditure limit rules for the candidates by July 12.