ISLAMABAD, October 16: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Babar Yaqoob said on Monday that questions will be raised if the next general elections are held without delimitation of new constituencies, adding that the ECP has thus written to the government for making new constituencies. Addressing a seminar on Electoral Reforms Act, Yaqoob said the ECP has objected to some portions of the newly-passed law, explaining that the poor will be deprived of contesting polls according to the new law.
Yaqoob said the lawmakers delayed the passing of this crucial law, adding that once the Census 2017 results are finalised, the new electoral constituencies would be formed.
He explained that they need a minimum of five months for the purpose [of making new constituencies].
Talking about the electronic voting machines (EVM), Yaqoob claimed the experiment of using BVMs will not succeed in the country for its high costs but added that a policy on the matter is being devised.
He shared that the use of BVMs in the NA-120 by-election in Lahore last month showed the anomalies of the system, as the 10-12 per cent of voters could not verify their thumb impressions whereas overall the National Data and Registration Authority (NADRA) does not have around 12.5 million registered voters are not registered with NADRA.-Agencies
