As part of the government’s efforts to make the next general elections more transparent, the Ministry of Science and Technology has developed an electronic voting machine. Briefing about the machine in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary said the machine comprises two parts; one representing election symbols while the other part will be with the presiding officer. Fawad Chaudhry said that only the presiding officer would be able to turn on the machine and voters would be able to cast their vote by clicking on any symbol through the electronic voting machine. The minister said that ballot paper can also be printed through a machine besides vote casting. “Not only electric vote casting can be done through the machine but also ballot paper can be printed”, he said. The minister announced that the work on the electronic voting machine was in the final stages and this machine would be shared with the National Database Registration Authority, National University of Science and Technology and COMSATS soon. The minister said that the launch of an electronic machine was necessary in order to get rid of rigging and other issues during elections. “Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Institute of Electronics had done a great job by developing such a machine,” he said, adding the machine has been developed as per directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan to ensure fair and transparent elections. The minister further said that the government was making all-out efforts to hold the next general elections through electronic voting in order to ensure transparency and impartiality in polls.