With the controversial Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) hackathon event in London bringing the debate on the accountability of the ballot machines to the fore, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata Sahoo and Chennai Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan claimed that the EVMs would ensure free and fair elections.
State Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo and Chennai Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan
Chennai:
The CEO also implored the students and voters to make use of ‘1950’ number to get details of the status of their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC). Voters can call 1950 to get the location of their election booths, contacts of Returning Officers, Booth Level Officers and other details. “We have made minimum facilities for the persons with disabilities including ramps at 67,000 polling booths,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation Commissioner Karthikeyan said, “Election Commission has the technologies to ensure transparent polls.” Responding to reporters, Sahoo said that the State Election Commission would send the vacant status of Hosur constituency to EC only after the government sends details of the vacancy. “We will conduct elections whenever the EC announces it to the vacant assembly constituencies in the state,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion of National Voter’s Day event held at Ripon Buildings on Friday among the prize winners of various school level and college level competitions, Satyabrata Sahoo said that the EVMs made the election process in the country free, fair and transparent. “The machines also had decreased the time taken to release the results. Electronic voting machines cannot be rigged,” he added. Corroborating his claims, Satyabrata Sahoo added that the EVMs function on high-end technology and “addition to the EVMs, Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) devices ensure more transparency as the voters can verify whether their votes are casted correctly in seven seconds.”
The CEO also implored the students and voters to make use of ‘1950’ number to get details of the status of their Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC). Voters can call 1950 to get the location of their election booths, contacts of Returning Officers, Booth Level Officers and other details. “We have made minimum facilities for the persons with disabilities including ramps at 67,000 polling booths,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chennai Corporation Commissioner Karthikeyan said, “Election Commission has the technologies to ensure transparent polls.” Responding to reporters, Sahoo said that the State Election Commission would send the vacant status of Hosur constituency to EC only after the government sends details of the vacancy. “We will conduct elections whenever the EC announces it to the vacant assembly constituencies in the state,” he added.