Alleging EVM Tampering, Kejriwal Wants Delhi MCD Polls Postponed

The Aam Aadmi Party chief wants EC to use paper ballots in Delhi MCD polls.

The AAP should introspect on the reasons for its defeat in Punjab instead of blaming EVMs, the Election Commission said. (Photo: The Quint)

Alleging again that EVMs can be tampered with, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday demanded that Delhi's civic polls should be postponed if needed, so that paper ballots can be used.

Referring to an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in Madhya Pradesh which was found to have been manipulated, the AAP leader said the EVM had come from Uttar Pradesh and it raised questions about the BJP's sweeping win in Assembly elections in that state.

AAP Should Introspect Punjab Poll Results Instead of Blaming EVMs: EC

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) should introspect on the reasons for its defeat in Punjab instead of blaming EVMs, the Election Commission said while making it clear that only a high court can order verification of votes cast in the polls with data of paper trail.

The poll watchdog also said that so far a total of 1,111 allegations regarding the tampering of "ECI-EVMs" have been considered by the Commission and those have been dismissed by it as well, as various high courts "unequivocally reiterating that given the effective technical and administrative safeguards, EVMs are not tamperable and integrity of electoral process is fully preserved."

In a strongly-worded letter, the EC said it is for the AAP "to introspect as to why your party could not perform as per your expectations and it is unfair on your part to attribute unsatisfactory poll performance of your party to the alleged tamperability of EVMs."

The poll watchdog said as per election law, after declaration of results only alternative available to verify the data of votes cast is to file an Election Petition before the high court concerned.

‘EC's Statement on EVM Tampering Unfortunate’

Reacting to the EC’s statement, the Aam Aadmi Party termed it "unfortunate" that the EC asked it to file an election petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court if it wanted to verify the casting of votes.

It is unfortunate that instead of taking due action, the Election Commission is issuing political statements on the issue of EVM tampering... The incident (of Bhind) shook the faith of millions of Indian voters in the impartiality of the EC and the entire process of elections using EVMs.

AAP Moves EC Over EVMs

Earlier, the AAP party had moved the Election Commission (EC) over reliability of the machines and the results of Punjab polls.

AAP had won 20 seats out of 117 in Punjab assembly polls and emerged as the largest opposition party. However, the number fell way short of Arvind Kejriwal's claim of winning 100 seats.

The commission said no credible material had been brought to the knowledge of authorities during and at the time of EVM "mock drills" in Punjab elections to show alleged tampering in the EVMs used in the state.

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