EC to seek 1,260cr to repair EVMs

Staff Reporter :
Despite opposition from several political parties, the Election Commission (EC) is moving ahead with preparations to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming general election.
As part of preparation, the EC is going to seek the Finance Ministry to get an allocation of Tk 1,260 crore for the repair of 1.10 lakh old machines, EC sources said.
The officials of EC said that the Commission has prepared a letter to be sent to Finance Ministry on Tuesday with the urge to disburse money for the purpose.
The number of the EVMs to be used in the parliamentary seats is now depending on the availability of money.
 “We will send a letter to the Ministry of Finance for funding. If the Ministry agrees to provide the funds, we can inform you in the next step of determining how many seats can actually use the EVMs,” he said.
He also said, “The Commission has every effort to use EVMs in 70 to 80 parliamentary seats. But the number will depend on the availability of EVMs. We have to repair the machines at first”.
Earlier on March 15, EC Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam said, “We have 1.10 lakh EVMs. We will make every effort to repair them and use them in the national election. Based on the receipt of funds from the Ministry of Finance, we can determine the final number of seats where EVMs can be used”.
EC sources said that the Commission bought 1.50 lakh EVMs in 2018. Of these, 40 thousands are out of order and the remaining 1.10 lakh machines require repairing and it needs around Tk 1,260 crore.
Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Anisur Rahman on Monday told the journalists, “We need Tk 1260 crore for the maintenance of 1.10 lakh EVMs. We have given instruction to send a letter to the Finance Ministry in this regard. It may be sent on Tuesday”.
He also said if the government takes steps in this regard within three weeks, they will get six months ahead of the national election.
“If we can repair 1.10 lakh EVMs, it can be used for 70-80 seats. We hope the government will
make arrangement for the fund,” he said. In reply to a query if the government does not fund for the maintenance, he said, “We will then take next decision in the meeting”. He further said that the Commission will not sit idle for indefinite period for the fund to be used in EVM repairing.
“The repair work requires at least six months. It is the high time for the repair,” he stated.
The commission believes that EVMs will ensure a free and fair election process, as they are more secure and transparent than traditional paper ballots.
However, several opposition parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), always express concerns over the use of EVMs, citing technical glitches and the possibility of tampering.
Other opposition parties also echo these concerns, while the ruling Awami League support for the use of EVMs.
Despite the opposition, the EC has stated that it will move forward with its plans to use EVMs, and has called on all political parties to participate in the election.