The Election Commission (EC) on Friday said the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls are completely different from those supplied to the electoral body.
The statement came following allegations that the machines deployed for the DUSU elections earlier this week were tampered with.
“The commission uses only single-post EVMs on which votes can be cast for a single post. At DUSU elections, it is told that multi-post EVMs, on which votes can be cast for more than one post, have been used. These are technically completely different from the EC’s single-post EVMs,” said the EC.
The ECI said the important technical and administrative safeguards available in its EVMs might not be available in other machines.
Till 2017, the commission said, EVM manufacturers Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited were allowed to supply the machines to the State Election Commissions and other organisations. Through a letter dated August 18, 2006, the DU was also allowed to procure its own machines from manufacturers for university or college-level union elections. However, it came with several riders.
The EC said that the EVM manufactured for the DU should be “perceptibly distinct” and that a colour distinction should be made in the machines made for use of the State Election Commissions as well. It said that the design, colour and model of such EVMs should be different from those meant for the EC, and the connector of ballot unit and control unit should be such that it can never be used in any of the ECI machines.
“No EVMs should be supplied to other organisations without prior permission of the commission,” said the EC order.
However, since May 2017, both the manufacturers have been directed to seek EC’s prior approval and only supply EVMs that are different from ECI EVMs to the State Election Commissions or to foreign countries, only after the current ordered quantities to the EC are fully supplied. The old EVMs are sent back to the manufacturers for destruction.
“We would like to clarify that the EC is not responsible for the conduct of local body elections conducted by State Election Commissions and the ones held by various organisations/institutions in the country and consequently, about various protocols and procedures adopted by them,” said the ECI.
It said it was confident about the integrity, non-tamperability and credibility of its EVMs and VVPATs, given that a wide range of technical and administrative protocols and procedural safeguards against any attempt at tampering were in place.