​ No need of reverting to paper ballot system: CEC

New Delhi: There is no need of reverting to the paper ballot system, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said today.

He said that majority of the political parties which participated in the all-party meeting here on May 12 had supported use of EVMs with paper trail machines.

"Ballot paper ki oor jane ka prashna hi nahin hai (There is no question of going back to the paper ballot system)," he said responding to a question.

He said the commission is considering a demand of parties to increase the time the paper trail slip is visible to the voter as an acknowledgement receipt for the party he voted for in the election.

The voters see voter-verifiable paper audit trail ( VVPAT) slip for seven seconds. The slip then drops in a box and the voter cannot carry it home. Parties want the slip to be visible for 15 seconds.

He said the commission has already announced that in all future elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies VVPAT machines would be attached to all electronic voting machines.

The process would begin with Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat later this year.

With the Centre releasing Rs 3,173 crore for acquiring 16.15 lakh VVPAT machines, these will be used in all polling stations in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The production will start in August and delivery would be made in September, 2018.