Dhaka, Sep 18 (IANS): Bangladesh's highest economic policy-making body on Tuesday approved a project worth nearly half a billion US dollars to procure 150,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

The project was given a green signal at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Xinhua news agency reported.

After the ECNEC meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told media that the country's Election Commission sent the project titled "EVM purchase, preservation and use for a more transparent election system" to his ministry.

The Election Commission plans to introduce the EVMs in the national polls slated for December.

Commission Secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said in August that it was planning to hold the country's 11th national election in the third week of December as the term of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Awami League party will end in January 2019.

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies have long been opposed the use of EVMs in the national polls over fears that this may create the opportunity for vested interest groups to digitally manipulate election results using the EVMs.