ISLAMABAD: A pair of Returning Officers (ROs) have raised concerns over the Election Management System (EMS) to be used in the collection and tabulation of results during the upcoming general polls on February 8, Dawn News reported on Monday.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) endorsed the system and declared that the nationwide EMS trial had proved successful. However, Abdul Qadir Mashori, Qambar Deputy Commissioner (AC) and RO for National Assembly, is based in NA-197 (Qambar-Shahdadkot-II), and Usman Khaskheli, Bakrani Deputy Commissioner and RO for PS-12 (Larkana-III) is the seat of Sindh assembly, independently communicated similar concerns about EMS in letters to their respective superiors.
Mashori’s letter dated February 3 to the Qambar-Shahdadkot District Returning Officer (DRO) highlighted the problems with EMS, which he later confirmed had been resolved in a subsequent letter.
Sources confirmed that Khaskheli had also written a letter to DRO Larkana expressing concerns about the EMS. Despite several attempts to contact him, Khaskheli could not be reached to get his perspective.
In his letter, Mashori noted that data related to the duties assigned to election officials was uploaded to the EMS but was later found to be missing. He raised concerns about the reliability and validity of the system, stating, “This weakness in the system has caused many problems and also raises a question mark about the reliability and validity of the software. The RO further expressed concerns that the system is a “complete failure” or that it is potentially “controlled” by external entities.
Mashori claimed that these reservations were communicated orally to both ECP officials and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials. However, despite these complaints, the issues remain unresolved, with both authorities attributing the problems to a “technical glitch”.
