That the Elections Bill 2021 sailed through the parliament did little to end the conversation. The opposition is still sitting on a warpath. With PPP Chairman steadfast in his manipulation banter and PML(N) Secretary-General Ahsan Iqbal unveiling plans to drag the much-talked-about amendment to the court, there remains no doubt about the polarisation taking a turn for the ugly. That too, quite soon. Politics has always been an art of convenient forgetfulness but the vigor with which both parties have white-washed the pilot projects of 2011’s local government elections and NA-4 by-polls in 2017 is-for the lack of a better word-phenomenal. But cry all they want, there is no denying the new order of the land. The new challenge now is to come up with the drive that can see the gargantuan project through. Thankfully, the ECP has stepped down its disdain horse and formed relevant committees to actively piece together the technology puzzle. The role of Federal Science Minister Shibli Faraz as he sets off on a crusade to extend all-possible cooperation cannot be emphasised enough. He does seem genuinely interested in bringing down the cost (by roping on domestic science labs) and supporting the exercise fully (one million hacking challenge). Nevertheless, with the clock ticking by, implementing the EVM agenda is, in essence, a race against time. The government first needs to fool-proof the layers upon layers of technology deemed necessary to shut doors on tampering. Making light of the vulnerabilities regarding hacked software, technological glitches, and the absence of proof in case of election disputes would be naive. There still remain issues of capacity as the ECP has yet to come up with the magic number–how many machines, how many personnel, and how many pilot exercises. Roaring claims on media suggest a continuous production of over 3000 machines daily till the D-Day. If true, the state machinery better roll up its sleeves and churn out the funds needed to ascertain around-the-clock production. Then again, the challenge to gain the electorate’s confidence and familiarise them with machines is a different story altogether. The big cities might be a breezy ride but what about the rural ecosystem: those sitting in a downtrodden village of Chitral, perched atop a hill in Murree or casting their vote from Thar dunes? The parliamentary win was enough reason for the government to relish its grip on its seat. However, the ball has now been rolled. It is up to the relevant ministries and the ECP to see it through. Let’s just hope Mr Faraz and his team find a place in the sun since he has cleary stepped in the right direction. Free and fair elections appear to be the only panacea to our rigging-bruised and authority-battered democracy. May 2023 be the first-ever elections that are not marred by dirty allegations! *