Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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For those who care for Pakistan ., please comment:

Election in Pakistan: We all know how much rigging happens in Pakistan. So, here is suggestion for future foolproof election.

In Pakistan, if one wants to buy mobile SIM, they have to varify their thumbprint using machine installed at mobile phone shops. So, such machine is no big deal in Pakistan. Hence:

All election booth should have 4 to 6 thumbprint varifying machine. Actually, each thumbprint varifying machine should be connected to computer screen .. that is directly connected to ECP office where votes is to get tabulated.

Voter when enters voting booth, he should be directed straight to thumbprint varifying machine and when he vaifies his thumbprint, a view on computer screen in front of him opens up with name, party name, and picture of all candidates.

Than, voter can vote by using his tumbprint again, pressing the box (containing name, party name and picture) of the candidate he wants to vote.

Here also, thumb print can be varified and a scan copy taken, alonbg with his votes. This vote should get transmitted to election commission and added to the person accumulated vote staraightaway.

Once voted, the vote would get counted straightaway and voter’s name from ‘still to vote’ list would get discounted (taken off .. so that voter cannot vote again).

This would have few effects.

1: Lot of saving in voting papers and printing … as all would happen electronically …

2: Lot of saving on ECP counting staff … as vote counting would happen automatically … and even thoyugh result could be displayed progressively, but for security reasons, result can come out within hour of voting end time.

3: No possibility of fake (jali) vote … as only voter can vote once. He has to be in polling booth to vote, and vote would happen on screen after varification of his thumbprint.

4: No change of result after voting ends … as counting would happen automatically as vote is casted.

5: There would be no reason for any candidate or party to doubt the result

… In my opinion, such voting arrangement would save lot of money (most thing would happen electronically) … and it would be as fair as possible.

In above process … ballet box, ballet papers, voting ink, identity verification, ballet votes transportation, accumulating and counting of votes … almost all processes that can raise rigging allegation … would be eliminated.

If anyone can put their own input in the process .. so, please do that for the sake and future of the country.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

The idea is good, but wouldn’t work in Pakistan. This kind of system has been tested in a few Western countries. However there are a few issues that even come up in industrialized nations and would be even bigger issues in Pakistan:

  1. This requires all polling stations to have internet connections with a lot of bandwith to handle the load of data being transferred and verified. In Pakistan you still have areas without electricity. Internet to duur ki baat hai!
  2. You would still need a lot of ECP staff to ensure that the devices are not tampered with.
  3. In case of technical difficulties in a particular voting location on the day, thousands of voters would probably not be able to cast their votes at all.
  4. If you accidentally press the wrong button you end up voting for a party you didn’t want to vote for. If you allow people to correct their vote afterwards, you would run into the same problems that we have today.

I think future elections will be held along the lines you suggested. But the infrastructure that would enable electronic voting and really make it foolproof, doesn’t exist at the moment.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

^^^

electeonic voting is good as long as it is not connected to any network…

stand-alone terminals with uneditable logfiles only printable and accesible by the permanent employees of EC and that is at the closing time..

these machines should have list of voters provided by the NADRA…and end of the day, the machine should be able to print, total votes casted and to whom and who is winner from certain point…

total automated have risk if hacking…semi auto-matic lesser chance of mismanagement and like OP said, no ballet box, no voting slip…and no ink…only thumb impression to be verified against the thumb impression in NADRA record

the votes casted to canditates/symbol should be displayed real-time to the representatives of the parties/candidates.

last not least, EC need to have the budget for having its own full time returning officer for each constituency…liable/responsible for ant mismanagement…

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

How would you ensure that one person doesn’t cast multiple votes then?

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

let the voter have to login with thumb impression and id card number…and set the protocol one id card and one thumb impression one time only!!! if vote is not casted properly then let it be a wasted vote…and the log of this written…

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

Read my above post. :slight_smile:

When voter thumbprint would open screen on computer for him to vote (that also once, and would discard his name as voter already voted on basis of thumbprint)… how can anyone else could open the screen as that voter … or … any voter could open the screen again if he has already voted.

If you do not know … here is information, that is … thumbprints are unique and no two person can have same thumbprint … so, no chance of multiple votes … or more than one vote by same voter.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

You are right … thumb impression and id card number would open the page of computer on voting booth for voter to cast his vote (also using thumbprint that computer would verify … with voter thumbprint used to open the page … and since that can happen only once, and record would be on computer with voter’s thumbprint, no rigging would be possible.

Best part is that, such is already happening in Pakistan when one take mobile SIM. Each person can have no more than 4 SIMs and shop can even tell name of all mobile service provider registered with the person. …

Now, that same procedure could be used in polling booth to open voting paper on computer screen for the person to vote, and computer can be connected through internet to server tabulating constituency result, main EC computer of the province as well as main computer of EC monitoring results all over country … plus, computer of political parties can be connected to main EC computer from where they can get result directly just after voting ends … . Thus verifiable voting record would be stored at various places (along with computer in booth), simple as that.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

Just imagine, amount of money that would be saved plus time saved plus no jhick-jhick after election.

Money saved … no ballet box, ballet paper, printing cost, transportation cost of polling papers and ballet box, counting and rechecking count cost, storage cost, reduction in polling agents cost, etc …

Time saved: Each voter would take no more than few minutes for casting his vote … that is, go to computer in pooling booth, press button using thumbprint to activate the screen … put his own ID number … and then polling page would appear. Use his thumbprint again to vote … screen declares that vote cast happened, than screen closes and voter leaves …

This method would reduce line outside polling booth as well as all the chick-chick inside the booth.

If voter is completely illustrate than procedure can be explained by polling agent … and voter does voting.

It means, no need for army of polling agents … an army officer can be in the booth so that, no one is made fool in voting.

Further, no need to transport polling box or counting to be done. All would be done automatically by computer.

No question on , rigging or multiple voting happened .. saving lot of after election turmoil in the country.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

i agree abovd with the reservation on the last para… iam not in favor to connect the computer to any network…that is to eliminate the risk of hacking…also making result print out to eliminate risk of post-poll rigging…

parties can see the proceedings through their representatives… candidate and workers should not be allowed near voting area…let the political agent of the party do all these things…

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

USA is still struggling to find out if last elections was hacked by Russia in favor of Trump. Nothing is impossible. Even computers can be hacked and tilt the election results to favorites who so ever can have access or authority. People here are seriously thinking to reintroduce ballet paper in addition to computer voting so that record can be tallied.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

But if there is no network connection in the background the same person could still go to multiple voting stations. No?

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

Any technical deficiencies can be easily managed. I think one of the biggest problems in Pakistan’s electoral process is the EC insisting on holding it on the same day.

At the very least, national and provincial elections should be separated. Further bifurcation can be done by holding elections for 2 provinces on day 1, and 2 provinces on day 2. There are many countries that have a step wise electoral process, which is completed in 2-3 weeks. A country with a population as high as that of Pakistan should also do the same.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

Same person cannot vote twice. Reason is simple. Computer in poling booth that check Thumbprint (or fingerprint) is always linked with NADRA computer … as it is on-line computer verify CNIC number and thumbprint with NADRA.

Once NADRA verifies the voter (after checking CNIC number, his address, his vote registration, his local polling station, and thumbprint) … voter would see a page (polling paper type) on the screen, where voter could vote using his thumb (thumbprint). … Once vote happens, he could not vote again, as NADRA and EC computers would register that he has voted, and thus NADRA, EC computers and computer at local polling station would not allow him to vote second time.

Since polling would happen at speed and so would the counting, advantage would be less time for voters in polling station, less work for polling agents, easily manageable polling process, and obviously quick fool-proof result.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

I think, more places record of voting is stored, less chance of any rigging. Actually, if record and counting is done at local polling station, than candidate would object that rigging at local polling station is done … but if vote is moved to various computers across the country (EC office in Islamabad, EC office in province, NADRA and EC local polling station) … than rigging would be impossible, plus, since counting can also happen in all 3 EC offices (Islamabad, Province and local station) , than counting can be verified too *(with each other) … as all 3 computer counting results has to be same … and if any discrepancy do happen (very unlikely) than fault counting can be found and adjusted (though, there is unlikely chance of fault counting) … though, if any question do arise, than counting can be verified from NADRA computer too.

Actually, intention is not just for fool proof voting method … but with this method, candidates (and parties) can verify the count, would not be able to complain that any wrong doing has happened at local polling station (that is big issue most of the time) or when counting is done or tabulated at EC main office… plus, any complain later on can be checked … as record of all votes would be there at 4 places (if not more).

Well, that is my opinion anyhow.

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Re: Reform needed in Pakistan election process, for foolproof election.

That’s what I was saying all along. You can’t do the verification, if there is no on-line connection with NADRA.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d be the first to support the kind of system you are proposing. However I don’t think it would be foolproof with the currently available infrastructure.