Election Commission may reconsider 5 per cent paper trail tallying

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission plans to use only paper trail-attached electronic voting machines in forthcoming elections, including assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, but it’s still undecided on how to go about tallying paper slips with results given out by EVMs.

The commission had decided to ensure mandatory counting of voter verified paper audit trail ( VVPAT) slips to tally with results given by VVPAT-linked EVMs in 5% of polling stations in each assembly seat, highly placed sources in the commission told ET. But this decision, reportedly approved by former chief election commissioner Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi just before the end of his tenure early last month, is now under review as there are “practical issues” to be resolved before it is implemented, the sources said.

“Implementing tallying in even 5% booths is a big task. There is no decision on that number,” an official said. While voters can immediately see if their votes have gone to the candidates of their choice after they have exercised their votes, officials said there have to be protocols and steps designed for handling of paper trails that could get lost or misplaced during the course of recounting. Currently, there is no compulsory tallying of VVPAT slips with EVM results.

It is only done when the results of a polling station are disputed by a candidate or an agent of the candidate on the day of counting. The decision of the returning officer, on whether to accept the candidate’s request to also count VVPAT slips, is final.