LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Information and Special Initiatives Hasaan Khawar on Thursday said the electronic voting machines had given the opposition an electric shock.

“The EVMs are going to end match-fixing forever,” Hasaan Khawar said in a tweet alleging that the use of technology made the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party nervous for they had always relied on manipulation and match-fixing.

The Punjab government spokesperson said 75 per cent of the democratic countries in the world either used the EVMs nationwide or in parts of the country or had EVM pilots underway.

“Use of electronic voting machines: There are 7 billion people in the world. 3.4 billion live in democracies (Democracy Index). 75% of these (2.6+ billion) live in countries that either use EVMs nationwide or in parts of the country or have EVM pilots underway,” he wrote.

At the joint session of the parliament on November 17, the government backed by its allies passed amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, which allows usage of the EVMs and gives right to overseas Pakistanis to vote in the general elections.

Following passage of the bills, the opposition staged a walkout in protest saying that the bills were passed with less number of votes than required.

Hasaan Khawar said the Sharif brothers did politics from abroad but did not give the right to vote to overseas Pakistani citizens.

“Those who have their own properties abroad and their children are also overseas, how could they oppose vote of the overseas?” he wondered.