EC runs mock exercise of new election system, challenges remain

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: The election commission said on Saturday that it had successfully conducted a nationwide trial of a new electronic system for compiling and tabulating election results, despite some concerns over its reliability and security.

The commission said in a statement that the Election Management System (EMS,) involved 859 returning officers, who are responsible for overseeing the voting process and transmitting the results to the central authority, was used for the first time in a mock exercise.

The exercise simulated the phases of internet connectivity, app login, data usage and transmission, and result tabulation. The test run yielded “useful and encouraging” results, with all returning officers completing the tabulation and compilation process, it added.

The commission said the transmission of results by the presiding officers was satisfactory, except for some connectivity issues that were being resolved.

It acknowledged that some presiding officers, who are in charge of individual polling stations, had faced connectivity issues in sending the results to the returning officers, but said that they had alternative options to deliver the results manually.

If a presiding officer faced any difficulty in sending results to the returning officer through their mobile phone, they would personally deliver the result to the returning officer’s office.

The commission’s claim of success came amid skepticism from some political parties and civil society groups, who have questioned the reliability and security of the EMS, especially after the failure of a similar system, the Result Transmission System, in the 2018 general elections.

The system’s collapse had delayed the announcement of the results and sparked allegations of rigging and manipulation.

The commission said that it had addressed the shortcomings of the previous system and that the EMS was developed in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority, which maintains the biometric and demographic data of the citizens.

It said that the EMS would also enable the voters to verify their registration and polling station details through a text message service, which would be launched on Jan. 29.