EVM ready for use

Experts will remain stand-by at every polling centre to resolve any problem centring electronic voting machine (EVM) during tomorrow's Comilla City Corporation polls.
All the 65 centres will be kept under webcam surveillance to ensure peaceful voting.
Even an election official along with a camera will also be assigned to work outside every polling centre, poll officials said.
The election commission (EC) officials here received all the required EVMs yesterday, and they will start distributing the machines to all presiding officers from 10:00am today.
Returning Officer Abdul Baten yesterday said experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) will be present at every centre to solve any problem, if arises, instantly.
“All EVMs and webcams will be sent to all centre by today,” he said, adding that each voter is now aware about the EVM and there is no possibility of facing problems while casting votes.
This is the first time the commission is going to use the EVM in the entire polling in any elections in the country. It will use 421 machines in as many booths in 65 polling centres. Besides, 65 more will be kept reserved on the polling day.
The main opposition BNP decided not to back any candidate in the Comilla City Corporation polls as the EC turned down its demands for army deployment and not using EVM.
Earlier, the party had boycotted the election of Narayanganj City Corporation at the last moment on the same ground.
Considering the political controversy that the common people would not be able to cast their votes through EVM, the election commission conducted a massive campaign in last one and half months to inform the voters about the system.
The EC officials have been organising programmes to educate voters about the EVM showing videos on large display panels at different public places in the city.
A total of 1,69,273 voters including 86,074 females will exercise their mandate on tomorrow's election to elect a mayor and 36 ward councillors.
Nine aspirants are fighting for the mayoral post while 287 are contesting the posts of ward councillors.