ISLAMABAD: To avoid any controversy for the next general elections in the country, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is planning to use Election Management System (EMS) instead of operationalising the controversial Result Management System (RTS).
The Election Management System (EMS) will be used for all the seats of national assembly and provincial assemblies, well-placed sources in the country’s top electoral watchdog shared with The Friday Times (TFT).
The pilot project of EMS with the name Result Management System (RMS) was successfully deployed in the recent local government polls. Moreover, the ECP has already trained its staff so as to better acquaint them with the new system.
It was also planning to use EMS in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) elections, but the elections were not held.
Sources at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the ECP will brief the media about the newly introduced EMS system after Eid-ul-Adha. It is believed that the EMS system would help ensure fairness and transparency in the results of the polls.
ECP staff, speaking on condition of strict anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that the newly introduced EMS-operated desktop computer application will be installed in offices of returning officers (ROs).
In this electronic software, data entry operators (DEOs) can enter data like names, numbers, registered voters, polling stations etc. The procedures related to entry will be performed by trained data entry operators.
The RTS was different as it was operated through Smartphone. The RTS transmits Form 45 from polling stations to RO offices and the ECP Secretariat using a smartphone and then performs the next process.
The controversial RTS system was an android-based application that suddenly crashed in the 2018 general elections, leading to political unrest in the country and allegations of rigging. The flaws in the RTS system remained in discussion inside and outside the parliament, so Pakistan's top elections authority – in consultation with the government – has decided to use the EMS system for the next polls.
The RTS system was to be developed by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for immediate disbarment of results from the polling stations, but it crashed in the constituencies. The then-opposition dubbed it 'planned rigging' against their candidates.
According to Section-13 of the Elections Act, “the Commission (ECP) shall establish a transparent results management system for expeditious counting, tabulation, compilation, transmission, dissemination and publication of results in the official gazette and on the website of the Commission.”
The Election Management System (EMS) will be used for all the seats of national assembly and provincial assemblies, well-placed sources in the country’s top electoral watchdog shared with The Friday Times (TFT).
The pilot project of EMS with the name Result Management System (RMS) was successfully deployed in the recent local government polls. Moreover, the ECP has already trained its staff so as to better acquaint them with the new system.
It was also planning to use EMS in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) elections, but the elections were not held.
Sources at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the ECP will brief the media about the newly introduced EMS system after Eid-ul-Adha. It is believed that the EMS system would help ensure fairness and transparency in the results of the polls.
ECP staff, speaking on condition of strict anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said that the newly introduced EMS-operated desktop computer application will be installed in offices of returning officers (ROs).
In this electronic software, data entry operators (DEOs) can enter data like names, numbers, registered voters, polling stations etc. The procedures related to entry will be performed by trained data entry operators.
The RTS was different as it was operated through Smartphone. The RTS transmits Form 45 from polling stations to RO offices and the ECP Secretariat using a smartphone and then performs the next process.
The controversial RTS system was an android-based application that suddenly crashed in the 2018 general elections, leading to political unrest in the country and allegations of rigging. The flaws in the RTS system remained in discussion inside and outside the parliament, so Pakistan's top elections authority – in consultation with the government – has decided to use the EMS system for the next polls.
The RTS system was to be developed by the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for immediate disbarment of results from the polling stations, but it crashed in the constituencies. The then-opposition dubbed it 'planned rigging' against their candidates.
According to Section-13 of the Elections Act, “the Commission (ECP) shall establish a transparent results management system for expeditious counting, tabulation, compilation, transmission, dissemination and publication of results in the official gazette and on the website of the Commission.”