Free and Fair election and the use of Electronic Voting Machines

 Tasmiah Nuhiya Ahmed, Executive Editor, The New York Times- Bangladesh National Section:
Just four months ahead of the national election, the Election Commission (EC) has taken decision for bringing amendment to the Representation of People Order (RPO) in order to incorporate the use of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming 11th parliamentary elections to be held at the end of this December. The timing of the move is disquieting to many people. Mr. KM Nurul Huda, Chief Election Commissioner said that they are not yet sure whether they would use the EVMs in next general election or not, however; they want to take preparation for using the system, if favorable atmosphere is ensured ahead of the election (EC for RPO amendment to pave way for EVM use in nat’l polls, Daily Star Report, 30 August 2018). A big portion of the concerned civil society members are of the view that introducing a completely new method of voting in one-third of the constituencies, involving around three crore voters, may not be a practicable proposition at all. In India, EVMs were used after several decades of tests and trials and we have only four months in hand.
The widespread mistrust among political parties in Bangladesh is not unknown to people. The ordinary citizens anticipate that there might be such a risk involved in introducing a new system. This initiative may further wear down the buoyancy of the voters in the electoral system. Many people think that it won’t be a wise decision on the part of EC to go for such a huge expenditure without being sure that the EVMs would be used at all. Most importantly, it requires consultations with the political parties and depends on the outcome of these consultations between EC and the political parties.
We understand that we are aiming for turning our motherland into “Digital Bangladesh”, however, we must take every step after being sure that the plan is implementable and worthy.
The Ruling party has informed that that they would accept the EC’s decision in this regard. The Opposition Party while giving the party’s formal reaction to the EC’s plan for using EVMs in 100 constituencies in the upcoming 11th parliamentary elections has expressed their concern and presented various examples and logics defending the party’s objection against the use of EVMs in the next general election. The opposition party urged the EC to engage in talks with all stakeholders and take steps for ensuring a fair voting through the customary ballot paper system. Election-oriented Left Democratic Alliance has opposed plans for using EVMs for the upcoming election, saying it will be an instrument of rigging. The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), a major component of the alliance; has expressed their fear that Government is planning to manipulate the election through using EVM in one-third of the total polling centers. They demanded for dropping the plan as the EVM system is not transparent and acceptable to many political parties (The Daily Star Report, 29 August 2018).
Citizens want a free and fair election as per the laws of the country. They have the expectation that the next election would be conducted by a neutral non partisan government. Sadly, many people have the feeling that no election under a political government was ever fair or free in the history of Bangladesh. They find the “transparency” thing missing then. The mass people do not understand these talks wholly but what they want is- there should be “fairness” maintained in every step. Hence, in order to ensure that this democratic country’s people do not lose their confidence on the electoral process, every political party’s opinion should be duly taken into account by the EC and the decision should be implemented in a way that the ordinary people are convinced that the 11th parliamentary election would be fair and free.