New Delhi [India], April 7 (ANI): In view of the upcoming Delhi Municipal Corporation polls, the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Delhi State Election commission to clarify on how many M2 models of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) are VVPAT compatible and also to clarify the number of such machines.

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday sought response of the Election Commission of India ECI and Delhi State Election Commission on a plea by Aam Aadmi Party seeking to conduct the upcoming MCD polls with Electronic Voting Machines EVMs which are compatible with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail VVPAT and not without themJustice Rekha Palli issued notices to the two election bodies and asked them to file detailed affidavits making it clear whether M-2 EVMs are compatible with VVPAT or notThe court listed the matter for further hearing on April 7Senior advocate Maninder Singh representing the ECI said the petition was not maintainable and they have already provided over 60000 M-2 EVMs to the state as per demandHe said each state election commission SEC is aware that they have to make their own infrastructure but Delhi has not done anythingHowever advocate Sumeet Pushkarna appearing for Delhi State EC said Delhis case is different from other states and Delhi has to only conduct municipal polls which is why they take EVMs from ECISenior advocate Rahul Mehra representing petitioner AAP said the MCD elections are round the corner and the state EC has not developed its own infrastructure despite there being a Supreme Court order in this regardThe high court was hearing the petition by AAP through MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj seeking direction to Delhi SEC to conduct the upcoming MCD polls with Electronic Voting Machines EVMs which are compatible with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail VVPAT and not without themIt had earlier asked the ECI to inform whether VVPAT system can be used only with M-3 EVMs and if they can be made available to Delhi SEC for conducting the municipal electionsThe counsel for State EC had submitted that VVPAT is used only in General elections and Legislative Assembly polls and as a matter of policy the EC is using M-2 EVMs Pan India for municipal pollsWhile M-2 EVM stands for 2nd generation Electronic Voting Machines M-3 is 3rd generation Electronic Voting MachinesThe petitioner party in the plea filed through advocate Rakesh Kumar Sinha said the EVMs without VVPAT machines make it almost impossible to ascertain the accuracy of the machines and rule out any tampering The use of the old M-2 EVMs without VVPAT are in contravention of the express directions issued by the Supreme Court in Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India 2013 which emphatically recognised that the incorporation and implementation of a system of paper trail in EVMs is an indispensable requirement of a free and fair elections the plea said It alleged that the decision of the SEC to hold the MCD Elections 2022 with M-2 EVMs without VVPAT is manifestly wrong and amounts to a colourable exercise of power This raises genuine apprehension about the sanctity of the entire electoral process it said adding that this decision has been conveyed in the reply to the partys March 2 2022 representation made to the authorities to use the EVMs compatible with the VVPATs As such the respondent no 1 State EC has apparently violated the constitutional guarantee of elections being free fair and impartial it alleged PTI SKV SA

New Delhi [India], March 22 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) whether it can provide electronic voting machines (EVM) with VVPATs (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) to the state election commission to conduct upcoming municipal elections.

New Delhi [India], March 10 (ANI): Responding to the allegation levelled by Samajwadi Party on Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), Sushil Chandra, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), said that there is no question of EVM tampering as the Election Commission of India (ECI) has always maintained transparency.

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to urgently consider the plea seeking verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) before the counting of votes instead of verifying it at the end of counting.

Assembly Elections for the five states are just round the corner. Elections are the most important aspect of a democracy. If you are going to vote for the first time, then it is very important to understand the whole process like what to do after going to the polling booth, how to vote for your […]

Lucknow Dec 29 PTI A delegation of the Election Commission which is on a three-day visit to Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday met district and division level officials here to review the preparations for the next years state assembly electionsThe EC delegation which arrived here on Tuesday held meetings with officials all through the dayAn official spokesperson said the delegation met district magistrates police chiefs commissioners IGs DIGs and other officials and reviewed the preparations for the upcoming polls to ensure free and fair electionsEarlier a booklet voters guide a pamphlet on information about EVMs and VVPAT machines prepared by the office of the chief electoral officer of Uttar Pradesh was releasedOn Tuesday the EC delegation held meetings with various political parties Representatives of BJP Congress Samajwadi Party Rashtriya Lok Dal and Communist Party of India met the delegationDuring the meetings the BJP demanded that women security personnel be posted at every polling booth while the SP sought a separate list of differently abled voters and those above the age of 80 The RLD had demanded that VVPAT slips be recounted PTI SAB DIV DIV

Panaji (Goa) [India], December 26 (ANI): North Goa cricket team on Sunday won a massive victory over South Goa in a cricket tournament for the visually impaired played at GCA ground in Panaji, Goa.

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], December 16 (ANI): As part of a voter awareness campaign, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sushil Chandra and two Election Commissioners flagged off Voter Awareness Vans in Punjab on Thursday.

Panaji (Goa) [India], December 9 (ANI): Goa Chief Electoral Officer Kunal asserted that banks play an important role during the election period to conduct free, fair, participative, accessible, inclusive and safe elections.