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.

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