EC launches 'cVIGIL' app to report MCC violation

Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat on Tuesday launched a mobile application 'cVigil' for citizens to report any violation of the model code of conduct during elections.

The application was unveiled during the inaugural session of the National Consultations on Accessible Elections with officials of Election Commission in attendance.

The app will be operational only in election-bound states where dates of polling have been announced.

The app will be made available for general use by all, from the forthcoming Assembly elections in the States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, and Rajasthan.

This would serve as a practice before it is put to extensive use during the next Lok Sabha General Elections.

The application would require an Android Smartphone with a camera, accessible internet connection, and GPS. It would be available for Android Jellybean and above.

'cVIGIL will allow anyone to report violations of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that comes into effect from the date of announcement of elections and goes on till a day after the polls in an election-bound state.

Any citizen can immediately report any instance of misconduct without rushing to the office of the returning officer to lodge a complaint.

All one has to do is to click a picture or record video of up to two minutes' duration. It would be uploaded to the application using the Geographic Information System. The citizen could track and follow the updates through a Unique ID. The identity of the complainant will be kept confidential.

A field unit consists of Flying Squads, Static Surveillance Teams, Reserve teams etc. will have a GIS-based mobile application called 'cVIGIL Dispatcher', will allow the unit to directly reach the location through navigation technology and take action.

If the incident is found correct, the information will be sent to the National Grievance Portal of the Election Commission of India for further action and the vigilant citizen is informed about the action taken within a hundred minutes.

The app has inbuilt features to prevent its misuse. It will receive complaints only about Model Code of Conduct violations. The user will get 5 minutes to report an incident after having clicked a picture or a video, the user cannot upload pre-recorded videos or old images. Photos, videos sent to 'cVIGIL' cannot be saved in the phone gallery either.

The moment a citizen exits an election-bound State, the app will become inactive.

Till now, the complaints about violations of Model Code of Conduct often could not be followed instantly, which led the violators to escape. The lack of any documented evidence in the form of pictures or videos was seen as a hurdle in verifying a complaint.

The app is expected to create a fast-track complaint reception and redressal system.