EVMs should be used in all future polls

After the success with electronic voting machines in the Comilla City Corporation polls, the Election Commission yesterday strongly advocated for the use of this “safe and user-friendly” device in all polls including the next general elections.
Talking to The Daily star, Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda said, “When the machines are used in all elections, we will be able to stop using tonnes of paper that waste a huge amount of public money.
“Dispelling fear and doubt, the electronic voting machines have proved reliable in the Comilla and Narayanganj polls,” the CEC told The Daily Star last night.
The BNP-led main opposition has been opposing the use of the machines, saying the devices could be tampered with to rig polls.
Comilla election was the first time when all voters of an election used machines to vote. The commission used 421 machines in 65 polling centres and almost all voters said voting with the machines was a lot easier and quicker. Polling officers too felt it easy to work with the machines.
BNP decided not to back any candidate in the Comilla polls as the commission turned down its demand for army deployment and not using the machines. The BNP boycotted the Narayanganj City Corporation elections too on the same count.
The machines were tested at the Chittagong City Corporation elections on June 17 last year. They were successfully used at 14 polling stations.
On the next general elections, the EC chief said, “2014 is a long way away. It will be the decision of the next Election Commission and the people. But we are totally convinced by the machines.”
He said the Election Commission has passed the “acid test” by using the machines in the Comilla City Corporation polls held on January 5. “People found the machines very user-friendly,” ATM Shamsul Huda said, adding, “I think all confusion regarding its use should come to an end after the success of Comilla polls."
He said the Election Commission will stress the use of the machines in all polls leading up to the 2014 general elections. “The more we will use, the more confusion centring it will be reduced,” he said.