Faced With Criticism Over Credibility Of EVMs, Govt Clears Purchase Of 16 Lakh New Machines With Paper Trail

In an effort to restore the credibility of the election process the Central government has cleared a proposal to procure paper trail machines. The proposal which was made by the Election Commission (EC) was given clearance in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

BCCL

The EC had proposed the purchase of 16 lakh Voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) voting machines to be used in all elections in the future.

The cabinet has cleared two tranches of Rs 1,009 crore and Rs 9,200 for the Commission to buy the new machines, against the Rs 3,174 crore sought by the EC.?

BCCL

Introduction of VVPAT is aimed at bringing more transparency to the election process.

The VVPAT allows the voter to verify their choice before casting the vote. It enables voters to see the names and symbols of the candidates for seven seconds. The ballot slip will be cut and dropped into the drop box in the VVPAT machine once a voter cast his vote and a beep will be heard.?

BCCL

However the voter cannot take the paper slip home as it is accessible only to the polling officers.

The government decision comes days after the Supreme Court asked EC to provide a timeframe by which it can use VVPAT machines in all polling stations.?

BCCL

Even in the recent assembly elections, VVPAT machines were used in all 40 constituencies in Gao and 33 seats in Punjab.

The EVMs had come under scrutiny after the recent elections in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa after many opposition parties raised concern over EVM tampering.

BCCL

BSP supremo Mayawati had alleged that votes cast for parties including hers went to the BJP or they were not registered.

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had also made similar allegations and calimed that if the EVMs were handed over, in just 72 hours he can rewrite its code.?

The EC which has all the while maintained that the EVMs were safe had reportedly issued a challenge to hackers to alter the machines.