Acting Secretary General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana ATM Masum has issued the following statement on 29th August 2018 rejecting the plan revealed by Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed of using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in at least 100 constituencies in the next parliament election.
“Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is widely being rejected in various developed and developing countries as it has been proved as an invalid and flawed voting system. So I am urging the Election Commission to be refrained from undertaking irrational plans of usingElectronic Voting Machine (EVM).
Already, this electronic voting machine became rejected massively as it has been proved as an invalid and ineffective system. Even the experts from Bangladesh have their views not to apply this controversial system in the general election. Recently an anti-EVM campaign has been started in our neighboring country India as its flaws have come out again and again. In a provincial election, the Indian Election Commission postponed voting in all voting centers as the EVM suffered from technical glitches in several centers. This risky and flawed system should not be introduced in the national election. The countrymen also became suspicious as the authority is revealing its plan to adopt this controversial system just immediate before the national polls.
The countrymen are well informed that the 20 party alliances and all other opposition parties have viewed against the usage of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). As the election experts and the opposition parties are considering this system as invalid and flawed so we hope and expect that the government would be respectful towards such views and will take ultimate decision for not using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
Government’s sudden plan of using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is not only impractical but also suspicious. The countrymen are not prepared to accept such controversial system. The Election Commission is planning to procure around one lac and 50 thousand Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). Some dailies reported that, planning is also going on to buy EVM with three times more prices. Conspiracies are going on to enact new law and amending RPO to facilitate EVM. These scenarios are proving that some vested quarters are mulling behind such controversial planning. Overall the countrymen lost their confidence and trust upon the government and its subservient election commission. Despite such realities, if the authority is taking any steps defying people’s view, that will be suicidal.
We are denouncing and rejecting the plan of using Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and urging the election commission to be refrained from undertaking any such controversial and suicidal plans.
