Fingerprint identification for voters likely

The Election Commission is contemplating introducing a fingerprint identification system for voters to tackle the problem of fake voters during the general elections in the country, N Gopalaswami, chief election commissioner, said here on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the electronic voting machine (EVM) manufacturing facility of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), he said the Election Commission had been thinking about the system and there was no decision on this matter yet.

“We have been thinking over this matter and it needs to be discussed and debated at a greater length with all parties and an amendment to the law is necessary to introduce such system,” he said.

He, however, said the Election Commission was yet to hold any discussion with political parties in this direction. BEL is ready with a software to implement the biometric voter identification system and can rollout the solution anytime, its chairman and managing director V V R Sastry said.

The Election Commission needs 1.07 million electronic voting machines for the forthcoming general elections to the Parliament in 2009 and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim. To meet the additional demand,  it has placed an order worth Rs 100 crore with BEL for the supply of 1.02 lakh EVMs. It has asked Electronics Corporation of India Limited, Hyderabad, for the remaining 78,000 EVMs. Today, the company delivered 5,000 EVMs and the balance will be delivered over the next two months, Sastry told reporters.

To facilitate the production of a new range of EVMs, BEL has modernised its mass manufacturing facility (MMF) with an investment of Rs 7.8 crore, which was inaugurated by the chief election commissioner today.  Sastry said the company is contemplating some export orders for EVMs.