The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday decided to use the Results Transmission System (RTS) in the upcoming by-elections.
The country’s top electoral body had faced severe criticism after results were unusually delayed during the 2018 General Election due to a dealy attributed to the software.
On July 26, ECP Secretary Babar Yaqoob had said that the results were delayed due to the RTS malfunction while data was being entered into it. Opposition parties have since then called the elections rigged and called for a probe into the RTS crash.
Following the ECP’s decision to use the software in the by-election, letters directing returning officers to use the software were issued.
According to letters, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will provide presiding and assistant presiding officers with the software on their phones.
Published in Daily Times, September 7th 2018.