India to send EVM team to Pakistan

India will be sending technical team to Pakistan next month to demonstrate the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) upon a request made by the Pakistani Election Commission.

The announcement was made following a bilateral meeting between India?s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S Y Quraishi and the visiting delegation from Pakistan led by their Chief Election Commissioner Justice Hamid Ali Mirza here.

According to Indian officials, the Pakistani Election Commission is actively considering introduction of EVMs in their elections and looking at various options.

In Delhi on the Indian Election Commission?s Diamond Jubilee valedictory and the launch of the National Voters day by President Pratibha Patil, delegations from a number of other nations are also said to have expressed interest in the machines.

Apart from Pakistan, delegations from Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Afghanistan, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, USA and Russia and head of the US based International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) met with Indian officials.

Nepal has requested for support in further expansion of the EVM use, already introduced in that country with Indian support, officials said. Talks are also on with Thai, American and Russian sides to extend cooperation in electoral matters.