Lok Sabha elections 2024: First-level checking of EVMs completed in Assam

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: With the next Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in April and May 2024, the mandatory First Level Checking (FLC) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines that began on September 1, 2023, was completed.

The Election Department of Assam, under the instruction of the Election Commission of India (ECI), completed the FLC of the EVMs and VVPAT machines currently in stock in the 50 election districts of Assam. Representatives of various political parties were present during the checking of the machines to isolate the defective ones.

Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) is the authorised manufacturer of EVMs and VVPAT machines used in elections in India. Engineers of the company were also present during the first-level checking of the machines. ECIL is a public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy, established in Hyderabad on April 11, 1967, to create a strong indigenous base in electronics.

Assam has around 55,000 EVMs and VVPAT machines in different districts. During the FLC of these machines, around 4,000 of them were found to be defective. These machines were kept aside after the completion of checking, while those found to be functioning without any problems have been kept in safe custody in the different election districts.

Around 4,000 defective machines will now be sent back to ECIL as per the instructions of ECI. These defective machines need to be replaced, and the election department has already taken up the issue with the ECI to replace them with new machines. ECI will send the new machines after receiving a requisition from the state election department. Sources said around 5,000 new EVMs will be sought for Assam, and they will also be checked for any problems.

EVMs were introduced in a phased manner in Indian elections between 1998 and 2001. Prior to the introduction of electronic voting, India used paper ballots and manual counting, a cumbersome process.

The Election Commission developed EVMs with a voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system between 2012 and 2013. The system was tried on a pilot basis in the 2014 Indian general election. EVMs and accompanying VVPATs are now used in every assembly and general election in India, and a small percentage of the VVPATs are verified.

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