The Election Commission of India has received 11 requests for memory verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) from the recently concluded Lok Sabha and state assembly elections. These requests essentially involve re-collating votes cast in 5% of the EVMs in each constituency.
This is the first such request to have been filed since the April 24 Supreme Court order allowing certification at the request of the runner-up in any election.
According to a statement from the Election Commission, eight requests – three each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress – had been received for the Lok Sabha elections, while three requests had been received for the state assembly elections.
Validation Request
Three applications have been filed by BJP candidates in Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Vellore (Tamil Nadu) and Zahirabad (Telangana) among the Lok Sabha constituencies, three applications have been filed by Indian National Congress candidates in Kanker (Chhattisgarh), Faridabad (Haryana) and Karnal (Haryana), one application each has been filed by Dessia Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) candidate in Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu) and Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) candidate in Vizyanagaram (Andhra Pradesh).
Two of the confirmation requests for state assembly elections were made by Biju Janata Dal candidates in Odisha and one by a YSRCP candidate in Andhra Pradesh.
Development of SOPs
Following the Supreme Court’s April order, the Election Commission issued detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for processing applications on June 1, which said state election officers can begin the verification and validation process within four weeks of ascertaining the status of election petitions filed for each constituency by the clerks of the respective high courts.
In the current election cycle, the deadline to submit petitions is July 19, or 45 days from the date of the announcement of the results.
“The technical standard operating procedures enumerating the methods and procedures for checking and verifying burnt memory/microcontroller of EVM units will be issued by the Commission from time to time before the end of the election petition period,” the ECI said.
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