The Election Commission’s decision on the use of electronic voting machines in 150 out of 300 constituencies in the next general elections to be held between December 2023 and January 2024 might deepen the crisis as most political parties have opposed the use of the machine. The commission announced its decision on August 23, saying that it is the commission that has the right to decide, not the political parties, and the main consideration for the commission is voters, not political parties. Such a statement raises a few questions. The commission invited the political parties to get their opinions on how elections can be held in a fair manner and 28 political parties attended the meeting where most parties opposed the idea of the use of voting machines. Fourteen of 28 parties, including the Jatiya Party, opposed the EVM use in the election while seven parties, including the ruling Awami League, were in favour. Nine other parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, that boycotted the dialogue have also continued to oppose the EVM use. If the commission now disregards the opinions of most of the political parties, it renders the dialogue redundant.
The chief election commissioner also says that the voters are their prime concern. If that was the case, how did the commission conclude that voters want electronic voting machines? In a country where most people are digitally illiterate and where voters have repeatedly raised complaints of difficulty in and unease at using the voting machines, the decision appears not to have taken voter confidence into account. In a number of local elections, many voters could not exercise their voting right because of technical errors of the machines. In some cases, candidates found it difficult to cast their vote because of fingerprint mismatch. The election authorities now allow presiding officers to open the voting machines in up to 25 per cent of the cases if there is a fingerprint mismatch. This widens the scope for manipulation. Many field-level election officers have also raised issues such as technical errors and difficulties in electronic voting. In May, an election commissioner expressed concern about the possible manipulation of voting machines, too. Globally, the use of voting machines has failed to earn voter confidence. In Europe, some of the most technologically advanced nations have gone back to traditional ballots after brief experiments with voting machines in the 2000s.
The commission’s insistence on EVM use lends credence to the public perception that the commission is acting in the interest of the ruling party. The use of controversial devices that have failed to earn the confidence of voters and political parties will further damage the electoral culture and credibility. The commission must, therefore, not use electronic voting machines.
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Editor: Nurul Kabir , Published by the Chairman, Editorial Board ASM Shahidullah Khan on behalf of Media New Age Ltd. Hamid Plaza (4th floor), 300/5/A/1, Bir Uttam CR Datta Road, Hatirpool, Dhaka-1205. PABX: +8802-9632245-48. Fax: +8802-9632250, E-mail: [email protected]
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