“We will use electronic voting machines on a pilot basis. It will be used on a very limited scale or at selected polling stations—these two things will be settled at Saturday's meeting.”
In October when Huda announced the polling schedule, he said EVMs would be introduced to some urban areas.
The ruling Awami League supports the use of the EVMs but most of the other political groups, including Jatiya Oikya Front, are against the use of it for the upcoming parliamentary election. Earlier, e-voting had partially been used in local government elections.
“We will use electronic voting machines on a limited scale,” CEC said in response to a question on the Jatiya Oikya Front’s threat to sue the government if the EVMs are used in the upcoming parliamentary polls.
He said there is no possibility of stepping back from the decision on the use of EVMs in the parliamentary election.
“The voting day [Dec 30] is very important as the people will choose their representatives on that day. So, we need to know neutrality, technical skills and election related rules,” Huda told the polling officials.
The CEC advised the polling officials to be careful while training polling agents. “They are representatives of the political parties. Listen to them attentively as they remain in the field.”
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