No scope for large-scale use of EVMs now

AHM Mustafa Kamal

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said there is no scope for a large-scale use of electronic voting machines in the upcoming parliamentary elections as the voters are yet to be familarised with them. 

He opined that the Election Commission can use EVMs in some areas on a trial basis. 

Kamal made the comments amid controversies that followed after EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed in late last month suddenly said they were planning to use EVMs in some 100 out of the 300 constituencies in the polls, likely in December.

“All the stakeholders should be trained up and it [the decision] should be implemented with the consent of political parties and all other stakeholders,” he told The Daily Star on Tuesday.

“Nobody wants the massive use of EVMs in the upcoming election. The EC can use EVMs as a pilot project but PM's directives are needed in this regard.”

Currently, the planning ministry is awaiting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's directives to approve a proposal from the EC to purchase 1.5 lakh EVMs at a cost of Tk 3,829.07 crore, said sources at the ministry. 

Under the five-year proposed project, the money will be spent on purchasing the machines, training up election-related officials, introducing voters to the machines through different orientation programmes and establishing relevant infrastructure.

The EC forwarded the proposal to the planning ministry without conducting any feasibility study. Besides, there was no budget allocation for the EVMs.

Asked about the feasibility study, he said, “Yes, there was no feasibility study but the EVM is nothing new as it was used in some [recent local government] elections. But still, it requires a feasibility study and that's why we are yet to give the approval.”

He said his ministry would decide on going ahead with the project after the upcoming Ecnec meeting. “It's a big project. We need Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's directives to move forward with the project.”

According to the project proposal, Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory (BMTF) prepared “high-quality” EVMs in the past in consultations with a technical committee, headed by eminent engineer Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury.

Asked whether the BMTF, a state-owned organisation, would be given the task of making EVMs under the proposed project, the minister said the procurement entity would finalise the issue.

After EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed disclosed the EC's plan on using EVM on a large scale, Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder strongly opposed it, saying, “It alone might plunge the polls into controversy”.

Soon after, the prime minister said the machines should not be imposed hurriedly as they need to be introduced on a limited scale in national polls.

Later, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said the use of EVM in the upcoming election would depend on enactment of law, training of polls officials and acceptance of all stakeholders.

“If the government brings in necessary laws and a congenial atmosphere is created, then the EC will think about using EVMs in some constituencies,” he added.

The BNP and many other political parties are strictly against the use of EVMs in the parliamentary polls. They alleged the government was trying to misuse the machine for vote rigging.

Not many countries use EVMs. According to a report by the Economic Times on May 14 this year "as of now, 31 countries used or studied EVMs.

Only four use it nationwide, 11 use EVMs in some parts. Pilots are on in five nations. Three nations have discontinued using it while 11, which ran pilots, decided against electronic voting."

In Bangladesh, the EC used EVMs on a very limited scale in several local government elections in recent years.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said the commission has proposed the amendment to the Representation of the People Order incorporating the provision to use EVMs in the parliamentary elections as the EC got a marked success using the machines in local body elections, reports UNB.

He said this at the inaugural session of the 9th meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia at hotel Radisson Blu in the city.

Former chief election commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda said the EVMs should not be imposed hurriedly in the national election.

He said there is nothing to hurry as EVMs can be used in the general election on trial basis after gaining public trust by using those in local polls.