ECP prepares for electronic voting in future polls

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday began preparing for electronic voting mechanism for future elections.

According to details, the ECP has contacted at least 11 organisations in this regard.

The Election Commission has also summoned report on magnetic ink, used for the thumb impressions, to investigate rigging allegations.

Earlier, it was revealed that ECP’s Election 2013 review report was prepared using foreign funding.

According to recently discovered details, the contents of the report were also prepared by foreign organisations. The Election Commission has already distanced itself from the report.

The much-hyped report is being interpreted by the opposition in their own way whereas the government’s interpretation is completely different.

Reportedly, millions of rupees were spent by UNDP and IFES to prepare the report and in fact, also wrote its content.

It was revealed that senior officials of Election Commission stayed in five-star hotels of Lahore, Karachi and Quetta during the report’s preparation. These officers, reportedly, also received travel and dinning allowances from the foreign organisations.

The report did not surface for at least nine months after its preparation owing to the lack of approval. However, the report was recently uploaded on the ECP’s website allegedly under pressure from the UNDP and IFES.

These organisations’ interest in the Pakistan electoral process can be judged from the fact that Pakistan’s election laws draft was also prepared by UNDP and IFES.