45 mn VVPAT slips counted, not a single discrepancy found: CEC Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday underscored the integrity of India's electoral process, asserting that not a single discrepancy has been found in votes counted through electronic voting machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

 

Kumar was addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for the Delhi Assembly elections.   

 

 

"Let me tell the nation today. After the Supreme Court mandated in 2019 that five VVPATs must be counted from each assembly constituency, over 67,000 VVPATs have been checked.

 

"This translates to more than 4.5 crore (VVPAT) slips being verified. And let me assure you that not even the difference of one vote has been found with the new machines since 2019," he said.

 

The CEC also pointed out that any minor errors, such as technical glitches in some of the older machines or mock poll data not being cleared, are handled with precision.

 

"There could be instances where a machine's data is set aside during the counting process. However, these instances are reviewed thoroughly and the slips are counted if they could potentially impact the victory margin," he explained.

 

Kumar highlighted that the guidelines for every aspect of the electoral process, from electoral rolls to machine handling, are rigorously followed and shared with political parties.

 

The CEC reiterated the transparency and robustness of the election mechanism, dismissing allegations of vote tampering.

 

"Our process is not only thorough but also transparent. Form 20, which contains the exact details of winners and losers, is handed over to all candidates," Kumar said.

 

The Election Commission has been subjected to scrutiny and demands for greater accountability, including the counting of all VVPAT slips, by opposition parties.

Will tell Centre no Delhi-specific provision can be made in Budget: CEC  The Election Commission will write to the cabinet secretary, informing that no Delhi-specific provision can be made in the Union Budget that can disturb the level-playing field, CEC Rajiv Kumar said on Tuesday.

 

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assmebly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar announced.

Responding to a query about the the Union Budget, scheduled days ahead of the polls, Kumar said, "We will write to the cabinet secretary that no Delhi-specific provision can be made in the Union Budget that can disturb the level-playing field."  The last date to file nominations is January 17 and the scrutiny of nominations will be done by January 18.

Candidates will be able to withdraw their nominations till January 20.

Bypolls to two assembly constituencies -- Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh and Erode in Tamil Nadu -- will also be held according to the same schedule.  'Scars created during poll campaigns may remain forever'

Polarisation during poll campaigns can leave scars that may last forever, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Tuesday and added that political parties should ensure that lines were not crossed.

 

Kumar said words and phrases such as "democratic backsliding" and "democratic recessions" were being used around the world, and issued a word of caution to the political parties.

 

"World over, if you look at democracies, words like 'democratic backsliding', 'democratic recession' are being used. Country after country, you can see what is happening," he said.

 

The campaign period is becoming so polarised in one country after another that the scars created during that time do not fade even during non-campaign periods, he added.

 

"Therefore, it is extremely necessary that campaigns are regulated, political parties also become sensitive and responsive, not cross lines which are being crossed the world over," Kumar said.

 

He also said Indian elections were always cited as an example. "It is a gold standard."

 

"Aggression during campaigns sows seeds of impatience and younger generations are weaning away from elections," he added.  'EVMs cannot be tampered with, courts say rigging impossible' 

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday rejected suggestions that EVMs can be tampered with and cited several court judgments upholding their reliability to state that rigging them is an impossibility.

 

Rejecting claims by opposition parties about the voting machines being compromised, he said the allegations of tampering were baseless and advised the public against "jhooth ke gubbare (spreading lies)".

 

Announcing the schedule for the Delhi Assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar also made an apparent reference to US billionaire Elon Musk's comments last year that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could be hacked.

 

"It is a misconceived narrative. A global IT expert said EVMs can be hacked while our elections were going on. They (US) don't have EVMs, they have electronic voting mechanisms. The remarks created pandemonium here. The same expert later said that India takes a single day to finish counting while the US takes over a month. We just follow the narratives that are suiting," he said without naming Musk.

 

Musk had last year called for the elimination of EVMs, citing risk of being hacked by humans or AI.

 

Explaining the processes followed to maintain the integrity of EVMs, Kumar said, EVMs were commissioned only seven to eight days before polling day and candidates kept informed through their agents at every step.

 

"The same day, a new battery is put in and it is sealed and the EVMs are kept in strongrooms. When the seal is broken on polling day, polling agents are allowed to be in the strongrooms," he said.

 

The CEC noted that the highest courts in the country had ruled on 42 occasions that EVMs were not hackable and allegations of tampering with the machines were totally baseless.

 

"The courts have noted that there is no evidence of unreliability or any drawback in EVMs. There is no question of introducing a virus or bug in the EVM and there is no question of invalid votes," he said.

 

"No rigging or alteration of results is possible. Evidence inspires confidence of court that they are tamper-proof. EVMs are fullproof devices, what else can be said ...," he added.

 

The CEC reiterated that it was impossible to change voter turnout data and a misconceived narrative was being spread about an increase in voting after 5 pm.

 

"Disclosure is our main pillar, detailed guidelines and data sets are available on our website. The Indian voter is extremely aware, conscious, they understand everything," he said.