Assam: Election Commission of India stresses EVM Protocols

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: As part of the preparedness process for the ensuing General Elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2026, senior officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI), Election Department, Assam, and other officials gave a detailed presentation on various aspects of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines to the District Election Officers (DEOs) and Deputy District Election Officers (DDEOs) of the state in Guwahati today.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the office of the Election Department, Assam, stated, "As a critical step in the preparedness for the ensuing General Elections to the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2026, a comprehensive full-day workshop on the First Level Checking (FLC) of EVMs and VVPATs was successfully conducted today in Guwahati on December 7, 2025, for all the District Election Officers and Deputy District Election Officers/FLC Supervisors of Assam."

The day-long workshop was attended by all the DEOs of Assam and DDEOs/FLC Supervisors of 35 districts where FLC is scheduled from December 11, 2025, to January 10, 2026, in different phases. The recognized political parties will be informed regarding their presence and participation in the FLC, and the process will be carried out in the presence of the representatives of the political parties. During the session, ECI stressed the message for strict adherence to the EVM handling protocols and maintenance of proper transparency measures by the DEOs and other officials following all laid-down guidelines.

Maneesh Garg, Sr Deputy Election Commissioner, ECI, and Anurag Goel, Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, presided over the workshop. PC Mandal, DGM, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), and Sulakshana Borpatragohain, Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, participated in the workshop. Detailed presentations were made on the various aspects of EVMs and VVPATs during the workshop, including procedures to be followed in EVM handling for ensuring better transparency. Technicians from ECIL, Hyderabad, provided technical guidance.

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