Lottery to pick 6 EVM constituencies on Monday

The Election Commission will draw the lottery on Monday to pick the six constituencies where electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used during the 11th parliamentary election.

The open draw of the lottery will be held in the presence of journalists at 5pm at the Election Commission Secretariatin Agargaon, said commission officials briefing reporterson Sunday night.

The six constituencies will be picked from 48 parliamentary seats, all located in the city corporation and district sadar areas, they said.

The 48 constituencies include: Thakurgaon 1, Dinajpur 3, Nilphamari 2, Lalmonirhat 3, Rangpur 3, Gaibandha 2, Bogra 6, Chapainawabganj 3, Naogaon 5, Rajshahi2, Pabna5, Kushtia3, Khulna2 and 3, Satkhira2,Bhola1, Barisal5, Tangail5, Jamalpur5, Sherpur 1, Mymensingh 4, Dhaka 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18, Gazipur 2, Narsingdi1 and 2, Narayanganj4 and 5, Faridpur3, Madaripur1, Sylhet1, Comilla 6, Feni2, and Chittagong 9, 10, and 11.

On Saturday, the Election Commission had decided to use EVMs in all polling stations of six constituencies among 300 parliamentary seats across the country.

The commission’s Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said the results of the lottery would be announced on Wednesday.

On why the commission is using EVMs despite opposition from most of the political parties, the secretary said Bangladesh has been making huge advancements in the digital era and they have decided to use EVMs after considering all issues.

Earlier, on September 18, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council had approved a Tk3,825.34-crore project to procure 150,000 EVMs.

The commission used EVMs in the recent mayoral elections in Gazipur, Khulna and Barisal cities on a test basis at a few polling stations.

The 11th general election will be held across Bangladesh on December 30.