On June 5, the Election Commission of Pakistan (EPC) announced their intention to use adopt voting technology for the 2018 general elections.
Although the Sindh government’s intention was to implement technology as early as November of this year, the obstacles to be sorted in order to make electronic voting a reality will make it impossible to begin automation so early.
Authorities are aiming at using electronic voting machines equipped with biometric systems. The idea is not only to capture voters’ intent, but also to validate the identity of the voter casting a ballot. Biometric technology is emerging worldwide as a great tool deter identity-related frauds.
The Election Commission is counting of broad consensus among all political stakeholders to proceed with this drastic change in how Pakistanis vote. To guarantee a good first implementation, pilot tests of the new system are currently underway.
The EPC also suggested that adjusting the legal framework is another pending task before electronic voting becomes a reality in Pakistan.
Source: http://www.nation.com.pk/national/06-Jun-2014/electronic-voting-in-next-general-polls
