‘Political parties treating EVMs like football’
EVMs manufactured by companies that also produce defence equipment
LUCKNOW: Political parties have been inadvertently treating electronic voting machines (EVM)s like a football, CEC Sunil Arora said. “When the poll result is in their favour, it is termed worthy but if the results are not according to their expectations, doubts are raised over the machines,” he said.
LUCKNOW: Political parties have been inadvertently treating electronic voting machines (EVMs) like a football, chief election commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said on Friday.
“When the poll result is in their favour, it is termed worthy but if the results are not according to their expectations, doubts are raised over the machines,” he said, while reminding the political parties that EVMs are now in use since two decades.
Taking cognizance of the objections raised by political parties, the election commission has made arrangement for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for polling this time. The problems faced in the working of the machines had also been addressed, he claimed.
“During Kairana Lok Sabha by-poll, the working of the VVPAT was affected due to heat. Our technical experts have rectified this problem as well,” he said.
The idea to use EVMs in the polling was first mooted in 1977 when SN Sankhdhar was the chief election commissioner.
In 1981, the EVMs were used at 50 polling stations in the Kerala assembly election. Later, due to the court issue, the use of EVMs remained suspended. In 1988, the Representative of People Act was amended to pave the way for the use of EVMs in the poll. In an order in 2018, the Supreme Court has said that ballot papers will not be used in the poll, said the CEC. He claimed that the EVMs are manufactured by companies like ECI and BHEL who also produce defence equipment.
“A technical advisory committee, comprising of experts from IIT-Delhi, IIT-Mumbai and IITBhilai, have final power over the use of the EVMs,” he said.
To addresss objections over counting of votes, the election commission has constituted a committee of experts of the Indian Statistical Institute. The recommendations of the committee will be implemented, he said.
Arora said there was hardly any doubt among the common people over the use of the EVMs.
During the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, over 75% voters exercised their franchise rights despite threats by Maoists. He said the EC will also be organising a conference of political parties to clear the misgivings regarding EVMs.