Bangladesh (Commonwealth Union)_ The Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC) announced that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will not be utilized in the forthcoming 12th parliamentary elections, which will be held in January 2024. According to reports, this decision was taken after opposition political groups, notably the BNP, protested vigorously against the use of EVMs. The majority of political parties have also raised suspicion, mistrust, and skepticism regarding the EVMs presented by the EC. However, the EC has defended that the electronic voting machines cannot be rigged, a stance supported by the ruling Awami League.
According to EC President Kazi Habibul Awal, at a news briefing at EC headquarters in Agargaon in Dhaka, the EC chose to solely utilize paper ballots due to a lack of political agreement regarding EVMs and a financial shortage. The decision was made public after receiving approval from the government. According to BEC Secretary Jahangir Alam, the lack of government money to purchase new machinery and refurbish the existing ones is a huge factor in this decision. Hence, paper ballots and transparent ballot boxes would be used in all 300 parliamentary seats in Bangladesh.
Accordingly, the upcoming Bangladesh elections, which are set for early January 2024, will scrap the use of EMVs and instead use paper ballots and transparent ballot boxes. Originally, the Election Commission of Bangladesh intended to implement EVMs in up to 150 seats. Alam said, “In our election roadmap, we had decided to use EVMs at a maximum of 150 constituencies. A TK 8,000 crore (US$ 757 million) project was undertaken in this regard, but that has not progressed”. Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s announcement during an Awami League gathering on May 7, 2022, that EVMs will be utilized in all 300 seats in Bangladesh, the topic of EVMs received importance.
This decision triggered a controversy among political parties and civil society organizations, with some challenging the security and dependability of EVMs. According to reports, Agricultural Minister Mohammad Abdur Razzaque stated that there is still some disagreement over EVMs. However, he remarked that several nations are conducting elections with this equipment. Further, the opposition in Bangladesh has blamed the ruling party and has requested the formation of a nonpartisan administration in order to prevent future electoral fraud.
