Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Report-
In light of the current global economic downturn, the government today decided against purchasing 2 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs).
During a press conference this afternoon, Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam informed the media of the government’s decision.
The Election Commission filed a request for Tk 8,711.44 crore to the planning ministry in October of last year to buy two lahks of electronic voting equipment and administer them.
The EVM problem gained attention after it was announced that voting machines would be utilized in all 300 constituencies during a May 7 AL meeting that the national elections would likely take place in early January 2024.
The DPP was sent by the EC in light of its intention to run the upcoming elections with a maximum of 150 seats using EVMs. With the approximately 1.5 lakh EVMs it now owns, the EC can organize elections for 70 or 80 seats.
EVMs were utilized in a number of local government elections after their introduction in 2010. However, they were not employed in any legislative elections at the time by the Election Commission, which was then headed by ATM Shamsul Huda.
The Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad-led EC prohibited the use of EVMs in national elections in 2012. During the 2018 December national election, the commission led by Nurul Huda upgraded the EVM system and deployed it for voting in six constituencies.
