EC develops remote EVMs for migrants

New Delhi, December 29

Aiming to enhance voter participation, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has developed a prototype of a remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for domestic migrant voters and has invited political parties for a demonstration on January 16.

Restore faith in system first

We call on the EC to restore trust in the electoral system with transparency and via honest engagement with Opposition’s concerns. — Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader

If implemented after consultations with stakeholders, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home district to exercise their franchise.

The Congress, however, opposed the move and said the ECI should first allay apprehensions expressed by many about the misuse of EVMs before extending its application which “would seriously undermine the trust in the electoral system”.

An ECI official said RVMs would be developed as “a robust, fail-proof and efficient standalone system” based on existing EVMs and would not be connected to the internet. The ECI floated a concept note on the new move and sought the views of political parties on the legal, administrative and technological challenges in implementing it. The ECI has invited all recognised parties on January 16 for a demonstration.