Locally-made EVMs good in quality: Prof Zafar Iqbal

Noted academician Prof Muhammed Zafar Iqbal on Saturday said electronic voting machines (EVMs) made by Bangladeshis are very good in quality.

“Boys have made it with care. It can be checked by experts who have knowledge of the technology,” Iqbal told a dialogue on the upcoming national elections and the use of EVMs organised by the Editors Guild.

He said he is hurt when he sees non-technical persons comment on the good and bad aspects of EVMs.

President of the Editors Guild and Ekattor Television Editor-in-Chief Mozammel Babu moderated the dialogue attended by Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Shahadat Hussain Chowdhury and M Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner, also spoke among others.

Iqbal, however, expressed concern over the costs of the EVMs, which according to him and others at the dialogue are very high. According to news reports, an EVM costs Tk 2.34 lakh.

The Election Commission is mulling to use EVMs in the next general elections scheduled to be held either in December 2023 or in January 2024.