Pak political party raises concerns over introduction of Election Management System for upcoming polls

Lahore:The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has raised serious objections on the introduction of a “completely new and unfamiliar” electronic transmission of results -- Election Management System (EMS) for the upcoming February 8 elections in the country.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently held first country-wide test run of the (EMS). The ECP says the main purpose of EMS is compilation and tabulation of results at the Returning Officer level.

The planned experiment has worried many as the controversy over Result Transmission System (RTS) collapse in 2018 still haunts the ECP.

In a letter to the ECP on Monday PPP Senator Taj Haider said: “We have serious objections on the introduction of a completely new and unfamiliar application (EMS Mobile App) for electronic transmission of Result of Count (Form 45) from Presiding Officers to Returning Officers (ROs).' 'We apprehend that a situation similar to that of the failure of RTS in General Elections of 2018 can emerge which like GE 2018 will be used for massive rigging of the results besides causing long delays in compiling of the provisional results by the Returning Officers.”

The PPP says the EMS application is a completely unfamiliar and a new application designed by the ECP and which is being used for the first time in February 8, 2024 polls.

“Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers have to be equipped with Mobile phones of a definite category (Android 6 or above) since the EMS App is compatible only with the selected category and not with every smart phone. Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officer have to be given special instructions for downloading the EMS Mobile App. It has already been presumed that many of them will have problems in downloading the App in which case they will have to seek guidance from the Returning Officer even on the polling day.” It says Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers will have to take quite a few steps and make entries on their mobile phones in order to make the cameras on their mobile phones operational.

“A new App being totally unfamiliar and being used for the first time may fail time and again. One does not know what new problems may arise which may not have been foreseen even by those who have designed and constructed this new application. The undersigned was a member of the Parliamentary Committee which was considering Electoral Reforms which were later passed by the Joint session of the Parliament as Amendments to the Election Act 2017.' 'The Committee had proposed that results of count (Form 45) should be transmitted to the RO from the Presiding Officers at polling stations by using the familiar WhatsApp application.' “It was requested by the ECP officials that the proposal should not be legislated since in some areas internet connections are not available and there can also be breakdowns in internet connections from time to time. We want to point out that some other connectivity problems can equally affect the newly designed EMS App. So why discard a familiar App and take the risk of using an unfamiliar App for the first time thus compromising the fairness of a National General Election,” the PPP says and demanded that the EMS Mobile App for electronically transmitting Result of Count (Form 45) should not be used and in its place the familiar WhatsApp application which is available on almost every smart phone should be used.

Besides, in order to raise transparency levels of polls WhatsApp numbers of candidates and their election agents in every constituency should be given to Presiding Officers of every polling station of the constituency. 'After the Form 45 images have been sent to the Returning Officers they should also be shared with candidates and election agents of the constituency. Groups of these persons can easily be made on WhatsApp application which can also be useful if the Presiding Officers wish to convey some advice to them during polling hours.”