A writ petition has been filed with the High Court (HC) on Thursday challenging the legality of Election Commission’s decision to use electronic voting machine (EVM) at the Dhaka City Corporations elections scheduled to be held on January 30 this year.
The petition sought HC directive for injunction restraining the respondents from using the EVM at elections.
The petition challenged the legality of president’s ordinance, which was issued on October 31 in 2018 after bringing an amendment into the Representation of the People Order (RPO) to use the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) in the parliamentary polls.
Advocate Eunus Ali Akond, a Supreme Court lawyer, submitted the petition seeking HC directives upon the authorities concerned not to use the EVM in any elections.
After filing the petition, Mr Eunus said that he sought injunction order over the use of EVM.
The petition also sought HC rule asking the government to explain as to why the president’s ordinance that allowed the use EVM in the elections should not be declared illegal.
There is no necessity for using the EVM in the elections as most of the voters are not aware of EVM so they may not cast their vote properly, he said.
The president’s ordinance that allowed using EVM in the election is contradictory with the Article 7, 11, 19, 26, 27, 28, 31 and 32 of the Constitution.
Using of EVM in the polls is also contradictory with the Article 93 and 65 of the Constitution, the petition said.
Secretaries of law, cabinet and president secretariat and chief election commissioner have been made respondents in the petition.
The petition mentioned that the Election Commission used the EVM at six constituencies including Dhaka 6 and 13 in last parliamentary elections, which was not held fairly.
Besides, 95 per cent people are not aware about the using of EVM. So, there is no need to use EVM in the Dhaka city corporations elections, Akond said.
He said that he would place the petition before the High Court bench led by Justice M Enayetur Rahim on next Sunday for hearing on the petition.
Earlier on December 28, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda said that EVMs (electronic voting machines) would be used in the Dhaka City Corporations polls.
