The reason for the slowdown in electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be identified within the next week, said EC Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker.
He made the remarks in response to a question from reporters at the media center of the ‘Nirbachon Vaban’ in the capital on Monday.
EC Secretary Humayun Kabir Khandaker said, “Our technical committee will look into the matter within the next week.” Voting for the sixth phase of Union Parishad (UP) elections has been completed in a smooth and congenial environment. However, voting in electronic voting machine (EVM) was slow. The vote casted less. In the sixth phase, 55 percent of the votes were cast.
The secretary said that the information received at the field level, after reviewing the overall situation, did not find any unpleasant news. The election has been completed in a fair and beautiful environment. Polling was not suspended at any of the centers.
Humayun Kabir, in response to a question on the reasons for low turnout in EVMs, said that in many cases, the fingerprints of the voters did not match. It made voting difficult, it slowed down the voting process. We take mock votes before the election. Voters were expected to come. But many of them did not come. So when they came to the center on polling day, it took time for them to understand the whole system.
Asked what measures have been taken to ensure that voters do not wait and return, he said, “We have sought field-level feedback.” Besides, I will sit in a meeting with the technical committee within a week. I will discuss how to increase the speed of voting in EVM, increase the voting rate.
