Dhaka: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda on Wednesday said the commission is not ready to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the 11th parliamentary elections.

"The commission has no preparation for using EVMs in the national election. It'll be used in various local government elections on an experimental basis. We're not ready at all to use EVMs in the general election," he said.

The CEC came up with the remarks while talking to reporters at the Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka's Agargaon area.

About the army deployment in the polls, Huda said they have not yet finalised their decision on it. "The reality is that the army was there in every national election, but we're yet to take any decision about it. There's still enough time. Why do you want this decision so soon?"

He also said they cannot take the decision so early as still more than one year is left before the next national election.

"We'll later inform the nation through you (media) taking the decision over the army deployment and the format of the deployment in the commission's meeting," the CEC said.

As his attention was drawn to Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar's remarks that the EC feels army should be deployed in the election, Huda said it was his personal opinion, not the Commission's decision.

The CEC said Mahbub Talukder also mentioned that it was not the commission's decision that the army would be deployed in the election.