M Humayun Kabir: Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder has strongly opposed the use of electronic voting machine (EVM) in the upcoming national election.
“It alone might plunge the polls into controversy,” said the commissioner, reports The Daily Star.
Mahbub Talukder placed the opinion in written form yesterday when he walked out of a key meeting to amend the charter of Representation of People Order (RPO) to incorporate the use of EVMs in the upcoming parliamentary election.
The Election Commission has drawn up plans to use EVMs in several constituencies just four months ahead of the national election, a move that has drawn criticism from parties.
Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda led a meeting yesterday with his commissioners at the commission’s Agargaon office for amending the RPO to implement the decision.
Mahbub Talukder walked out of the meeting 20 minutes after it began around 11:10am, placing a note of dissent and clarifying his position.
The Daily Star has obtained a copy of his note of dissent; where he said that he does not support the commission’s move to amend RPO and differs with the commission’s decision.
He, in the note, wrote that he is not against the technology, but that there are two big gaps in implementation of the technology – lack of trained manpower to handle the technology and the distrust of the people on its use.