TDS Desk:

The Anti-Corruption Commission has started investigating the Election Commission’s purchase of electronic voting machines (EVMs) to determine if there were any irregularities in the procurement process.

Among the 618 machines at the Election Commission’s headquarters, the ACC randomly tested some for their ‘operational capacity.’ The defects indicate the purchase of substandard machines.  Additionally it was unable to find any trace of 1,599 EVMs.

ACC Director General (Prevention) Mohammad Akhtar Hossain said that it has become apparent that the basis on which renowned experts like Muhammad Zafar Iqbal deemed the machines appropriate must also be brought to the commission’s attention.

After reviewing the relevant records gathered during yesterday’s operation, the Enforcement Team will submit a detailed report.

Although EVMs were used in various elections under the Awami League government, the Election Commission, led by Kazi Habibul Awal after taking office in 2022, assessed the feasibility of using EVMs in elections.

In May of that year, a group of technology experts, including Professor Zafar Iqbal of SUST and Professor A. Kaykobad from BUET’s Computer Science and Engineering Department, were shown the EVMs, and the EC sought their consent to use them in voting.

After observing the EVMs and exchanging views with the EC on May 25, 2022, Zafar Iqbal and Kaikobad argued in favor of using the machines in elections.

On that day, Zafar Iqbal said, “I have seen the full demonstration of the EVM. I have learned all the details, the technical aspects inside it. Finally, I opened the machine that was kept for us. Personally, I am convinced. It’s an excellent machine.”

He also urged political parties opposed to EVMs to approve the use of the machine.

On Sunday, the ACC conducted an operation accusing the previous government of wasting public money by purchasing substandard EVMs. During the review of the relevant records, it was found that the machines are stored at the Election Commission’s headquarters, 10 regional offices, and the Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory, which was contracted to provide the machines.