Erosion of confidence: Karnataka govt recommends SEC to replace EVMs with ballot papers for polls
The Karnataka government announced its recommendation to the State Election Commission (SEC) to use ballot papers instead of EVMs for the upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections.
New Delhi: The Karnataka government announced on Thursday that it will recommend to the State Election Commission (SEC) the use of ballot papers to conduct the upcoming panchayat and urban local body elections in the state.
'The erosion of credibility among voters'
The state government's effort to do away with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the election highlights Congress's campaign across the country against alleged 'voter theft'.
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said, "We decided to recommend to the SEC to hold all upcoming polls through ballot papers instead of EVMs. This is because there is erosion of confidence and credibility among the people over EVMs." Patil added that the government will introduce necessary legal measures and change the present rules to facilitate the SEC's electoral rolls revision.
The revision of the voters' list ahead of the elections
The government has also recommended that the SEC conduct a special revision of the voter list before the elections in the state. Patil said, "Over the last couple of months, there have been widespread concerns in Karnataka, and across the country, of vote theft due to mismatches, additions, and deletions in the voter list. Now, we have decided to recommend to the SEC to conduct a revision of the voter list and ensure that there is no denial of opportunity to voters in Karnataka to cast their ballot."
Patil also spoke about the voting machine and informed about a report of 3,450 pages that he himself had issued on how EVMs have become untrustworthy and could be manipulated. He added that the ECI challenged him and told him that it was beyond his power to recommend anything about the electoral system.