By-polls in Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh rescheduled to Nov 20
The adjustment in by-poll dates aims to ensure higher participation and smoother conduct of the polls across the three states, the ECI said.
A delegation of representatives of about 20 national and state level political parties on Monday met the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and other senior members of the Election Commission of India to present their case over the efficacy and reliability of the electronic voting machines (EVMs), especially since there have been numerous complaints and allegations from various quarters about them being prone to tampering and “fixing the results.”
The commission heard the concerns of the representatives as they urged the poll panel to ensure that 50% of EVM results are matched and cross-checked with voter-verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) before the declaration of results in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
This development and its outcome will have a significant bearing given that the high stake Lok Sabha Elections 2019 are just a few weeks away.
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The election commission has assured the political parties that issues raised by them would be deliberated and examined, said the sources.
“If votes polled to one goes to another, it’s against democracy. We told the commission that 50% of counting should be through EVMs and 50% through VVPATs (voter-verifiable paper audit trails). Then they should be cross-checked before declaration of results,” said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu said, “The election process for 2019 polls should completely go back to paper ballot. Due to time constraint, we are demanding that 50% of VVPATs should be counted at random and be tallied with EVMs.”
The opposition had, on Friday, held a joint meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi to discuss their course of action on the EVM tampering issue.
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