eVoting Is Mandatory in Associations via an STQC-Certified and MCA-Approved eVoting Agency Like Right2Vote

BusinessWire India

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 30: It is widely known that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India, has made it mandatory for listed companies to provide eVoting facility to their shareholders via an eVoting agency certified by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.

However, very few people are aware that the same regulation requires all associations registered as a company, with more than 1000 members, to provide eVoting facilities to their members via a STQC-certified eVoting agency. This regulation also applies to not-for-profit associations structured as Section 8 (formerly Chapter 25 under the Companies Act 1956) companies.

Many associations in India are not aware of this regulation and are not providing eVoting facilities to their members. This is a clear violation of the law, and these associations and their management committee can be held liable for penalties and punishment. Not providing eVoting facilities to members amounts to a denial of the right to vote to members. The objective of the said regulation is to protect the rights of small and marginal members and ensure that the organisation is run democratically. It aims to ensure that a few members are not able to monopolise the management of the organisation.

If an association uses an eVoting agency which is not approved by MCA, the election would be considered invalid (void ab initio). This can lead to legal problems for the management committee and the association.

Beware of fraudulent agencies which claim to be STQC certified

There are a few fraudulent eVoting agencies in India which use the STQC logo without permission on their website; they fake a Cert-in empanelled agency certificate as an STQC certificate.

There is another kind of fraudulent eVoting agency who have just done OWASP top 10 security testing, and has a certificate only for OWASP top 10 from STQC, but represents that they are a STQC-approved eVoting agency.

It should be noted that an STQC-approved eVoting agency has to go through testing on more than 500 parameters, which include GIGW parameters, MCA parameters, Functional Testing, Security Testing, OWSAP top 10 testing, Cloud, network and application security testing, and VAPT testing.

How to differentiate between approved agencies from fraudulent agencies

The STQC website mentions the list of eVoting agencies tested and certified by them, the most prominent being Right2Vote. Also, after the STQC certificate, MCA issues an approval letter to such agencies. To avoid being defrauded by such fraudulent eVoting agencies, check the STQC website and also check for the MCA approval letter.

Right2Vote Vs Others

Although a couple of central securities depositories (CDS) are also certified by STQC and approved by MCA, the best eVoting agency for association elections in India is Right2Vote.

Right2Vote is the best eVoting software for association elections due to the following reasons:

1. Features-rich and customizable: These central securities depositories' eVoting platform was created for shareholder voting and has features suited for shareholder voting only. Right2Vote's eVoting platform provides many advanced security and transparency features, including Secret Ballot, Audit Trail, Voter Receipt, Two-Factor Authentication, Team/Committee Elections, Weighted Votes, Candidate picture on the ballot page, Face Recognition and Voter Selfie. The election can be customised based on the nature of the election and the requirements of the specific association.

2. 24*7*365 support: Right2Vote provides 24*7*365 support for creating and managing elections. Even urgent requirements or last-minute requirements for eVoting are accommodated by Right2Vote.

3. Manages more than 3000 elections every year across sectors: The Right2Vote platform is flexible and feature-rich, enabling the management of 600 different kinds of elections. Right2Vote has been conducting eVoting for more than 10 years and manages more than 3000 elections every year across Trade Associations, Professional Associations, Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), Not-For-Profit Associations, Employee Associations, Companies, Cooperatives, Colleges, Clubs, Unions, Societies, Trusts, NGOs, etc.

4. Certified by STQC and approved by MCA three times in the last 7 years: Right2Vote platform has been certified, tested and approved by STQC, MeitY and MCA, not once but 3 times in 7 years. The most recent is in 2025. MCA requires the testing and certification to be renewed every three years.

5. Real Secret Ballot: Many elections, especially management committee elections in an association, require a Secret Ballot. A Secret Ballot is required, as without it, there is a risk of coercion. Candidates might trouble voters if they discover the voter's voting choice. Most eVoting platforms do not have a true secret ballot feature. They store the individual vote preference data on their system. They claim a secret ballot via encryption. However, encrypted data can be decrypted by the management of the voting agency. Right2Vote is the only agency that offers a true secret ballot. In Right2Vote, the individual voter's vote preference is not stored in the system, and therefore, there is no chance of any leakage or coercion.

6. Cloud-hosted and secure: Right2Vote offers a cloud-hosted eVoting platform which is 100% secure. Cloud-based redundancy ensures that data is secure even in the case of climatic disasters or other disasters. Right2Vote is tested and certified by Cert-in empanelled agency for cloud security, network security, application security and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT).

7. Awards: Right2Vote has been awarded for its eVoting technology by Microsoft, Facebook, IIT Bombay, IIM Calcutta, NASSCOM and many others

The said regulation does not make eVoting mandatory for associations with fewer than 1000 members and associations not registered as companies. However, it is recommended for all associations to provide eVoting facilities to their members to ensure wider participation and protection of minority rights. Also, it is in the interest of all associations to conduct eVoting only via an STQC-certified and MCA-approved eVoting agency like Right2Vote to ensure accuracy, higher participation, 100% security and transparent elections. Providing eVoting facility to members increases member participation substantially, leading to more democratic results.

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