Islamabad: Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz said on Wednesday that electronic voting machines (EVMs) could not be hacked and were the best solution to problems of rigging during polls.
Addressing a media briefing at Parliament House in Islamabad, where the government had scheduled a demonstration of EVMs for lawmakers, the science minister assured everyone that the machines “couldn’t be hacked or riddled with bugs” since they were not connected to the internet, dependent on mechanisms such as Bluetooth, WiFi or an operating system.
He hailed EVMs as the solution to rigging during and after elections. Through electronic voting, Faraz added, elections would be transparent and their results immediate and trustable.
The science minister called upon lawmakers to come and test out the EVM on display to satisfy themselves.
He said it was up to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to decide whether the machines fulfilled the requirements, adding that the ECP was the only constitutional institution that could approve or reject them.
“We are coordinating with the ECP. Before or immediately after Muharram [we will demonstrate EVMs to the ECP], obviously it’s the biggest stakeholder,” he said.
He added that the government had tried to incorporate all the requirements of the ECP into the EVMs.
