New Delhi: Amid allegations of widespread state-sponsored rigging, Pakistan President Arif Alvi lamented the fact that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were not used in the country’s general elections. He said that had EVMs been used, Pakistanis would be “spared” of the crisis engulfing the country.
In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Saturday, Alvi said, “Remember ‘our’ lost struggle for electronic voting machines. EVM had paper ballots that could be counted separately by hand (like it is being done today).
“But it also had a simple electronic calculator/counter of each vote button pressed. Totals of every candidate would have been available & printed within five minutes of closing of poll.”
“The entire effort that included more than 50 meetings at the Presidency alone was scuttled. Had EVMs been there today, my dear beloved Pakistan would have been spared this crisis,” added Alvi.
Remember 'our' long struggle for Electronic Voting Machines. EVM had paper ballots that could be counted separately by hand (like it is being done today) BUT it also had a simple electronic calculator/counter of each vote button pressed. Totals of every candidate would have been…
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) February 10, 2024
Pakistan President Alvi’s comments come against the backdrop of the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the full results of the election two days after polling concluded at 5:00 PM local time Thursday.
The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed independent candidates have won at least 100 seats out of the 266 seats of the National Assembly as per provisional results made available by the ECP so far.
The party has alleged that the results have been delayed to ensure the rigging of votes in favour of other candidates.
The results are a setback for Nawaz Sharif and his party the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N). Sharif was the frontrunner before polling and the favoured candidate of the Pakistani military.
The elections were also marred by criticism from the US, the UK and the European Union who have called for a fair probe into alleged instances of interference and fraud.
On Saturday, NetBlocks, an organisation that tracks internet shutdowns alleged that there were large-scale disruptions of access to the social media platform X in Pakistan.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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