Paper trail EVMs in all future polls

EC to hold hackathon on tampering

​New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday said it will hold all future elections using the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with VVPAT (voter-verifiable paper audit trail).

The decision was announced by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi after the EC had an all-party meeting in New Delhi following allegations of tampering and rigging of EVMs in the recent Assembly and municipal polls.

"Will offer opportunity to parties to demonstrate EVMs in recent elections were tampered or EVMs can be tampered even with laid down safeguards," Zaidi said.

The decision to use EVMs with VVPAT came even as the Election Commission declared to hold its hackathon, which will offer the political parties an opportunity to prove that voting machines used in the recent polls were tampered with.

A "challenge" is on the cards, Nasim Zaidi said in the meeting, going on record for the first time regarding the poll panel's proposed move to counter allegations of EVM tampering.

"Although use of VVPAT with EVMs will ensure total credibility and transparency and put to rest all controversy, the Commission will hold a challenge," he said.

Amid concerns raised by the Opposition, the Union Cabinet last month cleared the Election Commission's proposal to buy VVPAT machines for the EVMs to ensure transparency in the voting process.

The proposal involves getting 16,15,000 VVPAT units for EVMs at a cost of around Rs 3,173.47 crore for use in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.