After making it mandatory for political parties to publish why a candidate with a criminal record was selected for election, the Election Commission (EC) has launched a mobile application (App) ‘Know Your Candidate’ for electors to know the particulars and criminal antecedents of any candidate.

Informing this on Saturday, the chief electoral officer (CEO) Punjab, S Karuna Raju urged voters of the state to download the App developed to provide wide publicity and greater awareness regarding criminal antecedents of contesting candidates to ensure transparent election.

This App can be downloaded from Google play store and Apple App store and the link is also available on the Commission’s website, he said.

Directing the returning officers to ensure that the right document is uploaded on the App, the CEO asked them to select the checkbox ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for candidate criminal antecedent and upload the scanned document submitted by candidate in encore offline nomination.

Criminal antecedents as the same gets public visibility through KYC (Know Your Candidate) App. Returning officer also needs to re-verify and ensure that the checkbox is marked appropriately as “Yes” or “No” as per the details submitted by the candidate.

Informing about other initiatives of the EC by initiating many mobile voter-friendly Apps, Raju said that one of the App launched by ECI is Suvidha App, a single-window system for both candidates and political parties to apply for permissions before conducting meetings, rallies, etc. This can also be done through the Android App.

Another important App is cVIGIL which provides time-stamped, evidence-based proof of the model code of conduct and expenditure violation, having live photos and video with auto location data. Any citizen can lodge a complaint through the mobile App. Flying Squads then investigate the matter and the Returning Officer takes the decision within 100 minutes, the CEO said.

Another new Android-based mobile App called ‘Voter Helpline’ has also been launched, said the CEO while adding that this App provides convenience to all citizens for finding their names in the electoral roll, submitting online forms, checking the status of the application, filing complaints and receiving the reply on their mobile app besides knowing the contact details of booth level officers, electoral registration officers and district election officers, by using the Voter Helpline Mobile App or through www.nvsp.in Portal or by calling 1950 Helpline Number.

The CEO said ‘PwD App’ has also been launched to enable Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) to request for new registration, change in address, change in particulars and mark themselves as PwD through the use of the mobile application was also launched. By simply entering their contact details, the Booth Level Officer is assigned to provide a doorstep facility. PwDs can also request for a wheelchair during polling.