EC to use VVPAT in Assam polls

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Feb 18: The Election Commission will use the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the upcoming Assam assembly elections.

Joint Chief Electoral Officer ML Sureka said the VVPAT system will be used in 2,400 polling stations in ten districts - Guwahati East, Guwahati West, Dhubri, Goalpara, Jalukbari, Dispur, Silchar, Bongaigaon, Tezpur and Jorhat.

This is for the first time that the system will be used in the State.

In the system, an EVM will have a small attachment to it which after pressing the button for a desired candidate, will display that me. The system will eble a voter to get the proof that his vote has gone to the candidate of his choice against the right symbol.

The EC can also later verify the number of votes polled in favour of a particular candidate, cross-checking the votes with the number of in-system slips generated in the attached device.

The system has been introduced newly in the country to avoid disputes regarding the voting system.

There have been a number of complaints of EVM tampering in the State. Complaints have even moved courts over the issue.

The election official said around 3,000 VVPAT machines have already reached the State.

"They were used in the last Bihar elections. The machines have been manufactured by Bharat Electricals Limited," he said.

The EC had contemplated using the VVPAT system in the State in the last Lok Sabha elections, but dropped the plan later. The system has been used in other states on experimental basis.

Field trials of the system have been conducted in various places through simulated polls.

There are 24,888 polling stations in the State. The EC will be sending around 31,000 EVMs.