Lok Sabha elections 2019: Special effort to ensure no one is left behind, says Election Commission

NEW DELHI: To ensure that people with disabilities (PwD) who can’t travel to polling booths can cast their vote, the Delhi election office will provide transportation on the day of polling.



Delhi’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh said there was special focus on the differently abled and young voters this time and efforts would be made to ensure that “no voter is left behind”.



“There are instructions from the Election Commission too that PwDs should be provided all necessary facilities to ensure they come out and vote. We have marked PwDs on our voters’ list also. There is a mobile app where the disabled can register themselves as a voter and even mark themselves as PwD,” Singh said.



Delhi will vote on May 12. Officials say the capital has 1,38,98,141 registered voters and the number was set to increase as there are about 90,000 new applications that were yet to be processed and the election office was still accepting forms to add new voters. The votes will be cast on 13,816 polling booths set up at 2,696 locations across the city.



While each polling station in Delhi will have basic facilities such as drinking water, restrooms, wheelchairs and ramps, Singh said at least one ‘model polling booth’ will be set up in each assembly segment. The CEO added that the election office was also contemplating to set up booths with all-women staff to send out the message of women empowerment.



To ensure a free and fair poll, each booth will have a VVPAT machine, which will generate a slip that a voter can check. “If the voter contests that the slip did not have the details of the same candidate for whom s/he voted, the returning officer will register a complaint and do out a test vote on the machine. If there is an error, the returning officer (RO) will take a call if re-polling will be done on the booth. But if there is no error, an FIR can be registered against the complainant,” Singh said.

The election office will also keep a close vigil on social media platforms to check spread of any fake news and hate speech and ensure free and fair polls. Singh said appropriate action will be taken against violators.

The CEO also asked the electorate to use the ECs ‘cVigil’ app to report any violations of model code of conduct such as use of money, gifts or liquor to influence voters and muscle power to intimidate them. Singh said Delhi has 210 teams of mobile squads to check any violation reported through cVigil App. Using the app, which will be activated on the day of notification of election, a person can send geo-tagged videos and photos of any illegal activity. “The RO will have to dispose of the complaint within 100 minutes,” he said.

Singh also said that for the first time a social media expert has been included in the media certification and monitoring committee (MCMC) of the poll body, which will monitor both at state and district levels.

“Authorities will be monitoring all forms of media and also social media like Facebook and Twitter to check spread of any fake news and hate speech,” the CEO said.