No evidence of EVM tampering, says poll official on fourth day
The verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs), control units, and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines used in 14 polling stations in the Kolathur
The verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs), control units, and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines used in 14 polling stations in the Kolathur Assembly constituency continued for the fourth day on Saturday. The exercise, which commenced on July 29 following the directions of the Election Commission (EC), covered the machines used in two polling stations on Saturday. The verification was carried out at the electronic voting machine storage facility in Chintadripet, in the presence of Chennai District Election Officer and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G.S. Sameeran. The Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) Checking and Verification process being conducted for 14 polling stations in Kolathur Assembly constituency has so far found no evidence of malpractice, and should not be construed as a recounting exercise, Chennai District Election Officer G.S. Sameeran said on Saturday. Addressing reporters after the fourth day of the verification process, Mr. Sameeran said the exercise was intended only to verify the reliability of the EVMs in accordance with the EC’s guidelines.
“This is not re-counting. This is EVM Checking and Verification process,” he said. “It is a 100% transparent exercise to establish the reliability of the EVMs.” He said that in the eight EVMs verified over the past two days, the polled votes recorded candidate-wise matched the results in Form 20, while the preliminary mock poll had also been completed successfully. During the detailed mock poll of one EVM from Polling Station 75 at Chennai Higher Secondary School in Kolathur, the VVPAT developed a technical fault after correctly recording 412 mock votes, with its indicator light failing to function. Sameeran said the EC’s protocol permitted either replacing only the VVPAT and continuing the mock poll until the required 500 votes, or replacing the entire EVM set and restarting the exercise. However, the applicant’s representatives declined both options, following which the process was halted. He said officials had also offered a randomly selected list of 10 EVM sets, from which the applicant could choose two for verification.
“They were given one hour to select two EVMs. If they do not, we will randomly select two EVMs in the presence of other agents, videograph the entire process and complete the verification,” he said. Responding to allegations regarding missing or incomplete seal markings on certain machines, Mr. Sameeran said, “All the machines have been properly sealed, and the seal identification is available. Their allegation is only that the seal is at the rear and not on the front. That can easily be verified by opening the machine and tallying it. In the subsequent stages, there are opportunities to verify and check the authenticity. They call it a technical issue. But that is not evidence of any malpractice or tampering with the EVM. We have explained all this to them in detail through a letter. Based on that, we have given them time.” If they do not make a selection within that time, we will select two EVMs ourselves in accordance with the EC’s instructions and complete the procedure.
The BriefWire