The special enquiry committee headed by the Chief Electoral Officer Andhra Pradesh has found “no anomaly or tampering” in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) or the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) used during a demonstration in Bhind on March 31.
The committee was instituted by the Election Commission to inquire into various allegations raised by political parties and in the media regarding the tampering of EVMs and VVPATs in the recently concluded state assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
The Commission says that it has “conclusively established” that on pressing of various buttons on EVMs during the demonstration, corresponding symbols were displayed. The team came to the conclusion that “It is completely false that at multiple times slips of lotus were printed on pressing various buttons during the demonstration.”
The Commission states that four buttons of the ballot units were pressed in the demonstration.
The team has recommended that the enquiry conclusively establishes that, “the accuracy of the functioning of the EVMs and VVPATs is beyond doubt.”
This is not the first time that doubts have been raised on the use of EVMs and lack of VVPATs in elections around the country. Soon after results to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections started flowing in the Samajwadi Party approached the Commission complaining that the EVMs did not function properly in the state.
The Aam Adami Party (AAP) also pointed fingers at the malfunctioning of EVMs in the recently concluded Punjab assembly elections. In both instances, the Election Commission refuted the allegations and pointed to the various tests which have shown that the EVMs cannot be tampered with.