EVM is banned in these countries: What is the reason and controversy?

It is not new to discuss EVMs after any election in India. Just a month ago, after the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections, the opposition had accused EVMs of tampering. But do you know which countries have banned EVMs after using them in elections? Today we will tell you which countries have banned EVMs.

What is EVM?

EVM means Electronic Voting Machine. Let us tell you that EVM has two units, which have control and ballot. That is one unit on which you cast your vote by pressing the button and another in which your vote is stored. The control unit is with the polling officer, while the ballot unit is kept on the other side, from where people can cast their votes.

EVM banned in these countries

Let us tell you that India's neighbouring country Bangladesh has recently banned the use of EVMs in its elections. At the same time, Asian country Japan has also banned EVMs in elections, considering its reliability doubtful. Apart from this, recently many countries have banned it, including Germany, Netherlands and Ireland. The latest country to stop using electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections is Japan, which stopped using it after municipal elections in 2018.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh used EVMs in the 2018 general elections. But after that when the opposition parties opposed it, Bangladesh started using traditional ballot boxes from the 2023 general elections. At the same time, the elections that are going to be held in Bangladesh next year will not be on EVMs but through ballot boxes.

Germany

In Germany, a German court ruled in 2009 that EVMs are unconstitutional. They have been discontinued due to concerns over the transparency and public scrutiny of the voting process. It has been concluded in Germany that EVMs do not meet the constitutional requirements for public scrutiny. The court found that EVMs, being a computer-based system, were inherently opaque to ordinary citizens.

Netherlands

The Netherlands banned EVMs in 2007. The government found that EVM technology was vulnerable to hacking and security threats. Questions arose as to whether elections could be fair with these machines. Data related to electronic voting can be easily changed, and this worries both the public and the government.

Ireland

Ireland tried to adopt EVMs but rejected it completely in 2006. They spent heavily on EVM machines, but then found that issues related to them could harm transparency and security. Voters considered the paper ballot system more reliable.

USA (in some states)

Some states in the US have made strict rules regarding the use of EVMs. They were even completely removed in many places. The main concern was that these machines were easy to hack, and this could affect the results of elections.

Pakistan to hold elections with EVMs

Apart from this, many countries are exploring the possibility of using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for elections in their country. Pakistan is one of them, which has developed a prototype EVM. It is considering conducting its upcoming elections through this.