Marathon on credibility of EVMs on May 12

The Election Commission is set to hold an all-party meeting on May 12 to discuss the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines.

The EC would also hold a “hackathon” in the last week of the month when political parties, Information Technology professionals, enthusiasts and hackers would be allowed to check the EVMs and try to tamper them, sources in the poll panel said.

The Commission decided on the all-party meeting and hackathon in view of the doubts expressed by several Opposition parties about the credibility of EVMs, particularly after the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand earlier this year.

The EC would hold discussion with the political parties to dispel doubts about the credibility of EVMs. While the EC believes in the machines, it is committed to addressing genuine doubts that the political parties might raise about the machines, said the sources.

The EC on Thursday sent letters to the presidents of the seven national and 48 state political parties, requesting them to assign representatives for the all-party meeting.

The poll panel also sent a status paper on EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail devices (VVPAT), which will be discussed during the all-party meeting. The agenda also includes a discussion on “Making bribery in elections a cognizable offence,” disqualification on framing of charges for the offences of bribery in elections and suggestions pertaining to VVPAT recount rules. The EC sought written response from all the parties by May 7, said a source.