EC must prioritise earning people’s trust, not EVM

EDITORIAL

AMID widespread opposition to the use of electronic voting machine in the upcoming national election, the Election Commission decided to use it in six constituencies. Addressing a press conference on Sunday, as reported in New Age on Monday, the secretary of the commission confirmed that they will use EVM in 900 hundred polling centres of these randomly selected constituencies. The official also said that the commission so far has 1000 EVMs whereas it requires another 6,500 EVMs imported in a very short time and they have trained only 600 hundred people to operate the machines. 

The commission also allowed assistant presiding officials to use their fingerprints at 25 per cent of total votes of a centre to assist the voters, if the thumbs of any voters did not match. Globally, the introduction of electronic voting involved a prolonged process of trials of the system to ensure that the system is effective and voters are familiar with the technique and technology. In a country like Bangladesh with low levels of digital literacy, the logistical challenges alone can deprive citizens of their right to franchise. Clearly, the technological infrastructure and trained human resources that is required to introduce electronic voting does not exist at the moment. In this context, the decision to use EVM instead of gaining people’s trust will in effect raise further questions about the commission that is already mired with controversy.

From the very beginning, all stakeholders have vehemently opposed the idea of using electronic voting in the next election. In 2017, during the dialogue with the commission, 35 of the 40 registered parties including the main opposition BNP opposed the use of EVM. In fact, there is opposition within the commission itself. Even the prime minister opined that there should not be any rush in this regard. Apart from the political opposition, there is the issue of making the voters familiar with this system, most of whom, it must be admitted, are not familiar with the technology or the idea of voting in this manner. To deal with this problem, the commission have authorised assistant presiding officials to use their fingerprints at 25 per cent of total votes of a centre to assist the voters. It is unclear, how the commission will ensure that the authorised officials in the name of assisting voters would not interfere with their voting decisions. In what follows, the allegation that the commission’s decision to introduce EVM without meeting logistical and reaching a public consensus is to justify a huge expenditure of Tk 3,515 crore budget that has already been allocated for the procurement of 1.5 lakh EVMs and other necessary equipments.

Given the prevailing mistrust among political parties, there is a risk that introducing a new system may further erode the confidence of the voters in the electoral system. The commission, under the circumstances, must reconsider its decision and focus on addressing the grievances and questions raised about its role in administering a free, fare and inclusive election. It must prioritise earning people’s trust.

• Courtesy: New Age /Nov 27, 2018