Gujarat, Himachal polls: EC mandates VVPATs, HP to use new online system

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ The Election Commission (EC) has sent detailed instructions to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of poll-bound Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat for mandatory use of VVPAT machines at all polling stations and counting of paper slips in the coming assembly polls.

The poll panel has directed the CEOs that apart from the use of voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines at all polling stations, there would be mandatory verification of paper slips of VVPATs from one randomly selected polling station from each assembly constituency “on a pilot basis”.

In its detailed instructions to the CEOs last week, the Election Commission said the verification of paper slips would be done after the last round of counting of votes recorded in the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

“The random selection of one polling station per assembly constituency shall be done by draw of lots by the Returning Officer concerned, in the presence of candidates or their agents and the General Observer appointed by the Commission for that constituency,” the letter sent to the CEOs read. It said that the Returning Officer would have to “personally supervise” the counting of VVPAT paper slips at the counting booth.