At the first joint protest of the 28-party Opposition Alliance INDIA, on December 22, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for unity, saying democracy is under threat under the Bharatiya Janata Party government. He, along with party leader Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, and other senior leaders, claimed that opposition parties came together to form the INDIA bloc because “Modi ji and Shah are trying to destroy democracy and the constitution”.
At its meeting a couple of days earlier, the INDIA bloc had resolved to fight authoritarianism with full might saying that democracy and constitution are under attack.
At this meeting, the INDIA bloc had adopted a resolution on electronic voting machines (EVMs): “INDIA parties reiterate that there are many doubts on the integrity of the functioning of the EVMs. These have been raised by many experts and professionals as well. There is widespread demand for a return to the ballot paper system… INDIA parties would be ‘happy’ if there was a return to voting through ballot paper… If ECI has any reservations, it is possible and desirable to have a hybrid ballot paper-EVM system for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections… It suggested that instead of the VVPAT slip falling in the box, it should be handed over to the voter who shall then place it in a separate ballot box after having verified his or her choice. 100% counting of VVPAT slips should then be done.”
Only solace is “better late than never!” But, with parliament election only weeks away, there has been no follow-up action so far.
This resolution is the INDIA bloc’s adoption of the public demand initiated by civil society on August 24, signed by over 7,000 voters and conveyed to the ECI:
“EVM/VVPAT voting does not comply with the essential ‘Democracy Principles’ – that each voter should be able to verify that her vote is cast-as-intended, recorded-as-cast and counted-as-recorded. Though the ECI has arranged for all EVMs to be accompanied with VVPAT-device, the ‘Voter-Verifiable Paper Trail’ has been reduced to the level of a ‘bioscope’ which shows up a tiny ‘paper slip’ for seven seconds which then vanishes and is NOT counted…. The VVPAT system should therefore be re-calibrated to be fully voter-verifiable. A voter should be able to get the VVPAT slip in her hand and cast it in a chip-free ballot box for the vote to be valid. These VVPAT slips should be fully counted for all constituencies before the results are declared. For this purpose, VVPAT slips should be larger in size and must be printed in such a manner that they can be preserved for a minimum of five years.”
This move was initiated because ECI’s intention and capacity to hold free and fair elections as per its constitutional mandate has been fading fast. It reached a nadir recently when the Commission filed a counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court containing these assertions which are alien to the very concept of free and fair elections.
- ECI is under no obligation to cross-verify EVMs with VVPATs;
- The purpose of VVPAT is only to ensure that a voter can verify that her vote has been cast as intended;
- There is no fundamental right in voters to verify that their votes have been recorded as cast and counted as recorded;
- Any increase in the number of VVPATs to be cross-verified will pose an administrative challenge;
- 100% verification of VVPAT is a regressive step and takes the country back to manual counting of ballots;
- Earlier ballot counting systems used to take between 1 to 6 days. It will take more time if VVPATs are counted and recounted;
- EVMs cannot be tampered with. They have a one-time programmable chip. Cannot be hacked.
ECI seems to be under the archaic and colonial belief that elections are favours bestowed on the people of India and not instruments for the transfer of sovereignty from “We, The People” to our elected representatives to run the government on our behalf. This is a serious matter.
The Election Commission building in New Delhi. Photo: Twitter/@PIB_INDIA. November 5, 2022.
Equally disturbing is that ECI has been falsely claiming that the EVM (BU-VVPAT-CU) units are “totally standalone machines having one-time programmable chips.” With the introduction of VVPATs, the name and symbols of the candidates will have to be uploaded to EVM using an external device after the announcement of elections and finalisation of the candidate list. ECI Manual itself states at 8.4.2 that BEL and ECIL engineers are to use a device called Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) to electronically upload these details to the VVPAT. The same Manual in 8.4.4 make it clear that these devices need not be stored in the strong room along with EVM/VVPATs and are to be released to the engineers immediately after the poll thus making them outside of the custody chain of Returning Officers.
This wired connection of EVM/VVPATs to an external device not maintained within the custody chain of Returning Officers/District Election Officers after election is announced, candidate sequence is firmed up, and second randomisation and booth allotment of EVMs finalised makes the ECI’s practices in conducting elections extremely suspect. This has exposed the voting and counting to insider/outsider manipulation with ECI being a party to it. This cannot be countenanced.
Also read: Are India’s Elections Free and Fair?
In the actual voting process, a voter presses the ballot button opposite the symbol of the candidate of his/her choice on the EVM and will hear a beep sound. A slip appears in the transparent window of the VVPAT machine. The slip with the Candidate serial No., Name and Symbol are visible for 7 seconds before they drop in the sealed VVPAT box. The slip is too small to handle, printed on thermal paper and evaporates in a matter of weeks/months. This is suspect and non-transparent. A voter should be able to get the VVPAT slip in his/her hand and cast it in a chip-free ballot box for the vote to be valid. VVPAT slips should be larger in size and must be printed in such a manner that they cannot be altered and can be preserved for a minimum of five years.
Presently, votes recorded in the EVM is counted by pressing the appropriate button marked “Result” provided in the Control Unit whereby the total votes polled and votes polled by each candidate are displayed in respect of each such candidate on the display panel provided for the purpose in the unit. Corresponding entries made in a result sheet in Form 20 and the particulars so entered in the result sheet is announced. Rule 56D(4)(b) of the Conduct of Election (Amendment) Rules, 2013 provides for the primacy of the VVPAT slip count over the electronic tally of ballots cast and calculated on the EVMs. So, it is the VVPAT slips that should be fully counted for all constituencies before the results are declared.
Presently, any candidate, or in his absence, his election agent or any of his counting agents may apply in writing to the returning officer to count the printed paper slips in the drop box of the printer in respect of any polling station or polling stations. On such application being made, the returning officer shall decide the matter and may allow the application in whole or in part or may reject in whole, if it appears to him to be frivolous or unreasonable. This is a highly arbitrary and undemocratic process which can be brazenly misused/abused by election officials under political pressure as has been happening. The correct process is to count only VVPAT slips. If needed, results of the counting of VVPAT slips could be cross-verified with the electronic tallies of the EVMs before the results are declared. In case of any mismatch, the counting of the VVPAT slips should be treated as the final result. Forms 17A (Register of Electors) and Forms 17C (Account of votes recorded) must be tallied with the manual count of VVPAT slips before the declaration of results.
These essential aspects of Electoral Democracy, which are well within the remit of the ECI and are doable within a short time, are the demands contained in the public petition to the ECI which the Commission refuses even to acknowledge obviously under directions from the ruling establishment who are the beneficiaries of the current flawed and undemocratic system. In the event is it not the duty and responsibility of the opposition to take up this issue vigorously to ensure a free and fair election with integrity? But so far INDIA Block has failed in their duty while in our neighbouring small countries-Pakistan and Bangladesh-EVMs have been discarded because of joint action by opposition parties.
INDIA bloc should realise that the words “election” and “democracy” have become synonymous. As of now the only way to choose our representatives to govern ourselves is through the electoral process. “Resolving to fight authoritarianism with full might to defend Democracy” is a noble thing to do. But it should start with ensuring the fairness and integrity of the electoral process. Otherwise, the seriousness of the I.N.D.I.A Block to defend India’s Democracy would become a question mark. And in an election year, this could be disastrous!
M.G. Devasahayam is a former Army and IAS officer.
