Election Commission junks VVPAT plea, 22 parties left fuming

On Wednesday, the eve of counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, a plea filed by 22 Opposition parties to count voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips before the commencement of counting of votes polled in EVMs was junked by the Election Commission.

The EC said that after two rounds of in-depth discussions spreading over two days, it did not find it possible or feasible to accede to the demand, especially in view of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court. The commission also said the judgment directs that random selection of VVPATs shall be subject to the process of slip verification as per guidelines 16.6 of EVM Manual in force.

The manual said verification of VVPAT slips of randomly selected one polling station from each Assembly constituency shall be taken up after completion of the last round of counting of votes in EVMs, and that the draw of lots must be completed immediately after completion of the last round of counting of votes recorded in the EVMs.

The Commission claimed there are other procedural issues also, like allowing counting agents of candidates along with all returning officers to make counting more candidate-friendly.

The EC's decision left the Opposition parties fuming. They claimed the decision goes against the principles of democracy, as the request had come from 22 political parties, representing more than 65 percent voteshare. "Our demand was just that you are mandatorily obliged to count five VVPATs along with matching with the EVMs in each Assembly segment/constituency. We asked that it should happen at the beginning of counting and not at the end.

The idea is to sample check at the beginning. How can it be done after 12-14 rounds, which may show different candidates leading in different rounds? How will it matter after the informal results are out?" asked Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said the decision goes against the spirit of the Supreme Court order on VVPATs.