EC finalises Tk 8,711.44cr project to buy two lakh EVMs

The Election Commission (EC) has finalised a project worth Tk 8,711.44 crore to buy two lakh Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the 12th National Parliamentary Elections.

The project proposal will be sent to the Planning Commission to get approval. 

Election Commissioner Md Alamgir told this to journalists after a meeting at Election Commission Building at Agargaon in the capital on Monday. 

He said the EC currently has 1.5 lakh EVMs and those can be used in 70 constituencies. To conduct polls using EVMs in at least 150 seats, it needs to purchase more EVMs.

EC Additional Secretary Asim Kumar Debnath said implementation of the project will cost Tk 8,711.44 crore. This money will be spent on buying new EVMs, repairing and maintaining them.

However, nineteen out of 39 registered political parties are directly opposed to use of EVMs. Among them are the main opposition in parliament, Jatiya Party, and the BNP.

The ruling Awami League is in favour of EVM use.

EVMs were first used in the 2018 parliamentary election.