The State Election Commission has resolved to conduct the forthcoming elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and other left-over urban local bodies with ballot boxes and ballot paper.
The decision was reportedly taken in view of the prevailing COVID pandemic after eliciting views from political parties. The SEC, after a meeting with the GHMC commissioner on the conduct of the elections, sought opinion of political parties on the issue and a majority of the parties favoured the conduct of the elections through ballot boxes.
The SEC said of the 50 political parties, including the 11 recognised parties, 16 favoured ballot boxes and three suggested use of Electronic Voting Machines while seven other parties did not give a definite opinion on the matter. Moreover, the use of EVMs involves several stages before their installation in the polling stations.
The EVMs should undergo first-level and second-level checks, randomisation and commissioning. At all these stages, huge number of engineers deputed by manufacturers, representatives of political parties and election staff would be involved. In addition, huge number of unskilled labour would be deployed for cleaning, unpacking and packing of the EVMs and VVPATs in a closed environment.
This could in turn involve high risk of community spread of COVID as compared with the use of ballot boxes. The State Election Commission on its part requested the ECIL and the BEL to send quotations for procurement of VVPATs.
These companies informed that they would require the permission of the Election Commission of India for manufacturing VVPATs. A letter had accordingly been addressed to the ECI seeking its permission and a reply is awaited. The SEC recalled that the elections to gram panchayats and MPTC/ZPTC polls last year, as well as elections to the ULBs, were conducted through ballot boxes.