Electronic voting 'best' solution to rigging in elections: Shibli Faraz

• Election Commission to decide whether or not voting machines will be utilised, says Shibli Faraz.
• 1.8 million votes are lost in the manual voting process, the minister reveals.
• Says electronic voting machines best solution for fair elections.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz on Wednesday said that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) cannot be hacked, therefore, they are the “best” solution to rigging in elections.

Faraz, while addressing a press briefing in Islamabad, said that it is up to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) whether or not it wants to utilise the EVMs and the final decision lies with them. He also demonstrated how the EVMs work.

EVMs 'best' solution 

Faraz explained that the EVMs cannot be “hacked” as they are not connected to the internet or dependent on Bluetooth or an operating system.

He declared EVMs as the “best” solution to rigging and said that with their help, elections could be transparent.

The Science and Technology Minister asked other political parties to come and test the EVMs and satisfy themselves.

Read More: PM Imran Khan tests electronic voting machine with mock vote

Faraz further claimed that EVMs takes care of the secrecy of the votes. Stressing on “transparency”, he stated that no votes will be wasted in the EVM, as the machine itself verifies the voter through voting lists, and it barely takes two to three minutes to cast a vote through the machine.

Expanding on how the EVM works, Faraz explained that the machine can be used by one voter only once, therefore, reducing the possibility of putting in extra votes.

Read More: Just how feasible is it for Pakistan to use Electronic Voting Machines during elections?

Faraz added that the manual process of voting causes at least 3% of the votes to be wasted, however, the EVMs will prevent that from happening. He further added that no election committee member will be aware of where the machines will be stationed, avoiding the chances of tampering with the machine.

The minister concluded that it is important that “true” candidates are elected and the elections are transparent. 

Last month, Faraz had told media that the machines would be unveiled shortly. 

"The machine will be provided to the Opposition and relevant stakeholders [...] and it can be tested anywhere," the science minister had said during a casual conversation with journalists in Islamabad.