bdnews24.com :
The Election Commission, or EC, is to relaunch its use of Electronic Voting Machine or EVM, for the Rangpur city polls. The use of the machines was previously suspended following reported technical faults and opposition from the BNP.
Designed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology or BUET in 2010, EVMs have not been in use since 2012. The EC said it would use the machines at one polling centre during the Dec 21 city corporation elections in Rangpur. However, EC secretary and the chief election commissioner have given contradictory statements on which EVMs will be used at the centre-the old ones previously banned, or the new ones produced by EC.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda spoke on the matter during his announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday. “If everything goes right, we will try using EVMs at a smaller scale. New machines will be used,” he had said. Alluding to the faults found in the past, he said: “We will keep that in mind. We will use EVMs for flawless results and refrain from using them in cases where faults are still present.” CEC Huda inspected the new machines in May this year;
but they have not been launched officially. Meanwhile, Helaluddin Ahmed, secretary to the commission, has said the old machines will be used in Rangpur, but only those which are still functioning properly. The commission will destroy the rest, he said. “Closed circuit cameras will be placed inside prominent polling centres and EVMs will be used inside one.” The returning officer in Rangpur, Subhash Chandra Sarker, told bdnews24.com that he was yet to receive any directive from the Election Commission on EVMs. EVMs were first used at the 2010 Chittagong city polls and subsequently at city polls in Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Comilla. But in 2012, the usage was halted for reported technical glitches. The matter led to strife between BUET and Election Commission. The EC started producing EVMs on its own last year. The newly made items use biometric identification-fingerprints and national ID numbers of voters to prevent vote rigging. The ruling Awami League has encouraged the usage of EVMs, while the BNP opposes it. The 40 registered political parties have differing views. BNP Standing Committee Member Mahbubur Rahman said: “We will contest the Rangpur city polls but we are against the usage of EVMs. “These machines have not gained credibility among people yet and therefore must not be used right away,” he told bdnews24.com.
The Election Commission, or EC, is to relaunch its use of Electronic Voting Machine or EVM, for the Rangpur city polls. The use of the machines was previously suspended following reported technical faults and opposition from the BNP.
Designed by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology or BUET in 2010, EVMs have not been in use since 2012. The EC said it would use the machines at one polling centre during the Dec 21 city corporation elections in Rangpur. However, EC secretary and the chief election commissioner have given contradictory statements on which EVMs will be used at the centre-the old ones previously banned, or the new ones produced by EC.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda spoke on the matter during his announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday. “If everything goes right, we will try using EVMs at a smaller scale. New machines will be used,” he had said. Alluding to the faults found in the past, he said: “We will keep that in mind. We will use EVMs for flawless results and refrain from using them in cases where faults are still present.” CEC Huda inspected the new machines in May this year;
but they have not been launched officially. Meanwhile, Helaluddin Ahmed, secretary to the commission, has said the old machines will be used in Rangpur, but only those which are still functioning properly. The commission will destroy the rest, he said. “Closed circuit cameras will be placed inside prominent polling centres and EVMs will be used inside one.” The returning officer in Rangpur, Subhash Chandra Sarker, told bdnews24.com that he was yet to receive any directive from the Election Commission on EVMs. EVMs were first used at the 2010 Chittagong city polls and subsequently at city polls in Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Comilla. But in 2012, the usage was halted for reported technical glitches. The matter led to strife between BUET and Election Commission. The EC started producing EVMs on its own last year. The newly made items use biometric identification-fingerprints and national ID numbers of voters to prevent vote rigging. The ruling Awami League has encouraged the usage of EVMs, while the BNP opposes it. The 40 registered political parties have differing views. BNP Standing Committee Member Mahbubur Rahman said: “We will contest the Rangpur city polls but we are against the usage of EVMs. “These machines have not gained credibility among people yet and therefore must not be used right away,” he told bdnews24.com.
