Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines used in the three phases of polling in the state for the Lok Sabha elections are being kept under two-tier security in strong rooms in different parts of the state, in accordance with Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines.
Election department sources revealed that a two-tier security arrangement is in place for round-the-clock security of the strong rooms. The Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) is engaged in the security of the main gate to the strong rooms, while the state armed police force is in charge of the security in the outer portion of the strong rooms in question. CCTV cameras are in place for 24x7 surveillance in all the strong rooms.
As per ECI guidelines, the authorized representatives of the Lok Sabha candidate concerned are allowed to venture up to a certain point outside the strong room to observe the goings-on in the strong rooms. In the three-phase election in Assam, a total of 30,310 ballot units, 28,650 control units, and an equal number of VVPATs were used. Each EVM comprises two parts: the ballot unit and the control unit. The ballot unit is used by voters to register their vote for the candidate of their choice. The control unit is the part used to store the votes cast by the voters.
Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction, and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results. It contains the name of the candidate (for whom a vote has been cast) and the symbol of the party or individual candidate.
There are 50 locations where strong rooms across the state have been set up to store the EVMs and VVPATs after the polling process. The EVMs and VVPATs used for polling in the Kamrup (Metro) district are being kept in the strong room at the Maniram Dewan Trade Centre in the Betkuchi area of Guwahati.
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