Probe EVMs, demands Kejriwal -Governance Now

Probe EVMs, demands Kejriwal

The chits generated through VVPAT must be counted by the election commission and matched with the final result shown by the EVMs, said Kejriwal

GN Bureau | March 15, 2017

#polls 2017 #Arvind Kejriwal #VVPAT #electronic voting machines #Punjab #AAP #voting

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday sought a probe into Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and demanded that the VVPAT chits be counted and matched with the EVM results.

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail system (VVPAT) provides a paper trail. Once a voter presses the EVM button, a piece of paper with the election symbol is also generated.

Kejriwal said that VVPAT was put into practice in 32 assembly constituencies in Punjab and in 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh. He said that the chits generated through VVPAT must be counted by the election commission and matched with the final result shown by the EVMs.

“If the numbers are same, then faith in the process will be restored. But, if there is mismatch in the numbers, then something else needs to be done,” said Kejriwal, who added that people have lost faith in the poll process.

He said that the apex court had made the observation that EVMs are vulnerable and prone to tampering.

“Countries like US and Japan have barred the use of EVMs,” he said.

Before 2014, even BJP leader LK Advani had protested against the use of EVMs.

He cited the example of a candidate in Maharashtra who polled zero votes. He claimed that candidate had voted for himself, but that did not reflect in the EVM.

To a query with regard to the AAP winning 67 of the 70 seats in Delhi, Kejriwal was quick to retort: “We didn’t tamper. We did not have the state machinery at our disposal.”

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received a drubbing in Punjab where it bagged about two dozen seats out of the total 117 seats. The Congress, under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh, made a dramatic comeback, ousting the Badals who have been power for a decade.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati and Congress leader Ajay Maken too have demanded a probe into EVMs.

So, what exactly is VVPAT?

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail is an independent system [consists of two parts, namely, VVPAT Printer and VVPAT Status Display Unit (VSDU)] attached with the Electronic Voting Machines that allows the voters to verify that their votes are cast as intended. When a vote is cast, a slip is printed containing the serial number, name and symbol of the candidate and remains exposed through a transparent window for 7 seconds. Thereafter, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in sealed drop box of the VVPAT.

Comments

Other News

“Game” of cricket: Governance lessons from India’s favourite sport

India’s cricket journey is more than a record of sporting triumphs; it is a live case study in strategy, incentives, and equilibrium: the very foundations of Game Theory. As India prepares for its eight-match white-ball series against Australia, the world’s most-watched rivalry will again unfol

In this year of extreme rainfall, climate change has amplified deluge

Southwest Monsoon 2025 recently concluded with ‘above-normal’ rainfall to the tune of 108% of the long-period average (LPA). This is second consecutive year in the last decade to record above normal rains. Climate change has a critical role in driving the rainfall on the higher side, according

This Diwali, as we clean our homes, let`s clean our digital lives too

Every year, as Diwali approaches, I begin my annual ritual of cleaning – opening drawers, cupboards, and those mysterious “boxes of everything” we all seem to have. It starts as an act of tidying up, but it always turns into a little journey of rediscovery. Among the old receipts and forg

Sea leave rise: Multi-level adaptive governance needed to meet the challenge

By the end of this century, global sea levels may rise by more than 1 metre, and the mean sea level rise is expected to increase by 180 mm. Climate change is one of the gravest issues before us and one of the most pressing issues linked to the climate change is the sea level rise. The coastal communities a

Rethinking the funder-practitioner relationship in capacity development

The Human Capacity Development landscape in the social development context has evolved significantly over the years. From the more simplistic term “training,” it has now developed into a much more nuanced concept, “Competency-Based Capacity Building” (CBCB). Yet, one question persis

The economics of smart cities

Imagine a city where trash isn’t trash, energy isn’t wasted, and economic prosperity isn’t achieved at the cost of human wellbeing. A city where every rupee invested in infrastructure yields returns not just in roads and buildings, but in health, jobs, equality, and dignity. Smart city pr