[The Election Commission (EC) Friday committed to hold all future polls to state assemblies and Lok Sabha with voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) and agreed to mandatorily tally paper trail slips with the EVM results of a fixed percentage of polling booths in every election. ... Parties which opposed unlimited [and anonymous] corporate funding, supported state funding of elections in the same breath. CPI, TMC, JDS and JD(U) were among the supporters. The Commission assured all parties that their feedback will be considered.]
http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/paper-trail-voting-in-all-future-polls-election-commission/666360/ Paper trail voting in all future polls: Election Commission The decision was announced at the end of a marathon day-long meeting of the poll panel with 42 political parties on matters related to EVMs. By: FE Bureau | New Delhi | Published: May 13, 2017 2:03 AM EC has already decided to link all EVMs with VVPAT machines for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. (PTI) ***The Election Commission (EC) Friday committed to hold all future polls to state assemblies and Lok Sabha with voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) and agreed to mandatorily tally paper trail slips with the EVM results of a fixed percentage of polling booths in every election.*** [Emphasis added.] The decisions were announced at the end of a marathon day-long meeting of the poll panel with 42 political parties on matters related to electronic voting machines (EVMs). “The Commission has taken into account that VVPATs slips of electronic voting machines, up to a definite percentage which will be determined by the Commission, will also be subjected to counting and the ECI will evolve an appropriate framework in this regard,” chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi told reporters after the meeting. As first reported by the Indian Express on April 20, the EC has already decided to link all EVMs with VVPAT machines for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly elections, scheduled towards the end of this year. VVPAT machines produce a printout of the vote cast using an EVM. The printout is deposited in a box and can be used to resolve any dispute regarding the election. “Political parties were also informed that the commission will hold a challenge and offer opportunity to political parties to demonstrate that EVMs used in the recently concluded assembly elections were tampered or that EVMs can be tampered even under the laid down technical and administrative measures,” Zaidi said. The poll panel did not, however, announce the date of the proposed ‘Open Challenge’ on Friday. During the meeting, all parties, except the BJP, expressed apprehensions over the infallibility of the EVMs. While a majority of the seven national and 35 state parties supported the use of VVPATs along with electronic machines, a few such as the Trinamool Congress, RJD, BSP, CPI, PMK and J&K National Panthers Party wanted the EC to go back to voting with paper ballots. Incidentally, the JD(U) took a stand opposite to that of its ally RJD in Bihar. JD(U) representative Sanjay Jha cited the example of rampant booth capturing in the past in Bihar to oppose the proposal to use paper ballots again. Some parties, including RLD and Congress, which supported the use of VVPATs urged the commission to extend the display period of the VVPAT slip before it falls into the ballot box. Currently, the paper trail slip is displayed for seven seconds in the VVPAT window before it drops into the box. Parties want the display to last for 15 seconds. At the meeting, many political parties, including RLD, CPI, Janata Dal (Secular) and National Conference, among others, also objected to the recent amendments to the Companies Act of 2013 which removed the cap of 7.5% on corporate contribution to political parties. “You (the government) have allowed unlimited corporate funding (to parties) but brought down the cash limit on donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000. This move will only benefit political parties such as the Congress and BJP,”said CPI leader Atul Kumar Anjan who attended the meeting. ***Parties which opposed unlimited [and anonymous] corporate funding, supported state funding of elections in the same breath. CPI, TMC, JDS and JD(U) were among the supporters. The Commission assured all parties that their feedback will be considered.*** [Emphasis added.] Zaidi said, “You should be convinced that EC has no favourites… we maintain equidistance from all parties and groups. It is our constitutional and moral duty to stand dead centre of the circle drawn around us by 56 political parties.” -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
