After the first round of Gujarat Assembly elections saw the failure of a number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at polling stations across the state, a number of candidates and political parties have raised serious doubts about the feasibility of using EVMs and the issue has also been raised at various courts.
With the second phase due on 14 December, the Election Commission (EC) has clarified its position and shared data regarding its preparedness for the election.
The EC has informed that for the second phase all polling stations will be covered by EVM machines, a 100 per cent deployment along with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs).
The EC has also assured of the availability of a sufficient number of machines in reserves in case of need.
An elaborate system for effective administration of the elections has been put in place as well as security protocols and procedures for Gujarat Assembly Elections.
The issue of Bluetooth being used during the elections at one of the booths was also rejected by the EC and termed it as a rumour without any substance.EC further said that due to stringent security and defined protocols there was hardly scope for any error or wrongdoing.
Dispelling misinformation regarding widespread faults in EVMS, the EC in a statement said, “During the first phase of polling, only 0.75 phase of Ballot Units (BUs), 0.75 per cent of Control Units (CUs) and 2.8 per cent of VVPATs developed technical glitches. With 100 per cent deployment of VVPATs at all polling stations, voters felt confident and reassured about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.”
The data shared by EC mentions that for the 25,515 polling stations in Gujarat in the second phase of 93 constituencies, a total of 35,061 VVPATs are being put to use along with 40,027 Ballot Units (BU) and 32,633 Control Units (CU). The said numbers relate to a healthy reserve of 37 per cent for VVPATs, 57 per cent BUs, and 28 per cent CUs.