The Election Commission will meet today to address concerns raised by 20 opposition parties over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) fraud and voter verification paper audit trail (VVPAT), the Congress Party said yesterday.
“We have raised these same issues in the last one-and-half months. Why have they not responded? The Commission heard us for almost an hour. They assured us they will meet again tomorrow morning to address primarily these two issues,” senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters after leaders of the opposition parties met the election watchdog.
The delegation comprised Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu, Nationalist Congress Party’s Praful Patel, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Kanimozhi, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien, Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Chandra Misra, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Manoj Jha, Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitraram Yechury, Communist Party of India leader D Raja and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
The delegation urged that the verification of VVPAT slips of five randomly identified polling stations be done prior to beginning the counting of votes and not after completion of the last round.
They also sought that if any discrepancy is found anywhere during the VVPAT verification, 100% counting of paper slips of VVPATs of all polling stations of that assembly segment should be done.
They demanded that the EVMs be guarded more stringently, and that counting be done in a fair and transparent manner.
India’s marathon election wound up on Sunday after almost six weeks of voting, with results expected tomorrow.
Several polls have suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies would get enough seats to secure a second five-year term.
The ppposition leaders said the Election Commission must ensure voting machines were not manipulated in any way.
Their concern stemmed from video clips on social media purportedly showing attempts to replace the machines in strongrooms ahead of counting in some places.
“We are asking the Election Commission to respect the mandate of people. It cannot be manipulated,” said Naidu.
Mishra of the BSP alleged “large-scale bungling” of the voting machines in Uttar Pradesh.
Opposition leaders talk to media representatives outside the Election Commission office in New Delhi yesterday.
