No EVMs for next JS polls amid fund crunch

Election schedule for 5 city corporations

• Gazipur City Corporation on 25 May
• Khulna City Corporation on 12 June
• Barishal City Corporation on 12 June
• Rajshahi City Corporation on 21 June
• Sylhet City Corporation on 21 June

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will not be used in any of the 300 constituencies in the next parliamentary election amid a budget crunch, the Election Commission announced on Monday.

The voting will be carried out using ballot paper in all 300 seats, said Election Commission Secretariat Secretary Jahangir Alam after a meeting of the commission.

The EC earlier announced the plan of using EVMs in 150 seats following several dialogues with a number of political parties.

"Due to the non-availability of funds for the purchase of EVMs, the uncertainty of getting Tk1,200 crore needed to repair the existing EVMs, and objection from most of the political parties, the commission may have changed its decision on EVMs," said EC Secretary Jahangir Alam after a meeting of the EC on Monday.

In the dialogue with the EC, the Awami League was in favour of using EVMs.

Regarding not using EVMs, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told TBS, "We demanded use of EVMs because casting votes with ballots and counting those take a lot of time. Besides, there are examples of miscreants taking over ballot boxes and casting fake votes. There is no chance of these if EVMs are used.

"The Election Commission is an independent institution and can take any decision. We have nothing to say about it. We just want a free and fair election."

At first, the commission proposed a project for the purchase of two lakh EVMs at Tk8,711.44 crore. The government, however, did not approve it considering the financial situation of the country.

Then, the commission planned to use the existing 1.5 lakh EVMs in 70-75 seats but 40,000 of those are unusable due to improper maintenance. The remaining 1.1 lakh EVMs also need to be repaired, which needs Tk1,260 crore. The commission sent a letter to the finance ministry in this regard but no fund was given.

BNP Standing Committee Member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain told TBS, "We have been agitating against EVMs since the beginning as those can be used to rig votes. Finally, the commission accepted our demand."

In response to whether the BNP will participate in the election, he said, "We had many demands. EVM is one of them. Other demands must be met."

"We said we will not participate in any election under this government. This government must resign, dissolve the current parliament and ensure an electoral system of government. Then we will think about participating in the election," Khandaker Mosharraf added.

Five city elections will have EVMs

It was also decided in Monday's meeting that polls in five city corporations will be held through EVMs. There will be CCTV cameras also. Gazipur City Corporation polls will be held on 25 May, Khulna and Barisal City elections on 12 June, and Rajshahi and Sylhet polls on 21 June, said the EC secretary.

He also said EC officers would be returning officers in all city elections. They will communicate with the commission through tabs.

As per the announced schedule, the deadline for filing nomination papers in Gazipur is 27 April, the selection is 30 April, and the withdrawal deadline is 8 May.

In Khulna and Barisal city, the deadline for submission of nomination papers is 16 May, the selection is 18 May, and the withdrawal of nomination deadline is 25 May.

In Rajshahi and Sylhet cities, the last date for submission of nomination papers is 23 May, the selection is on 25 May, and the last date for withdrawal is 1 June.