All polling stations of Assam to have VVPAT system: CEO

All polling stations in Assam will have VVPAT system during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Chandra Sahu said here Wednesday.

A VVPAT device is a printer attached to the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). The VVPAT devices dispense a slip with the name and symbol of the party candidate for which a person has voted, thus enabling verification of the voting process.

The VVPAT slips will be counted along with the votes punched into the EVM from randomly selected polling stations and tally with the counted votes, the CEO told reporters.

Sahu said VVPAT awareness campaign has begun across the state with voters participating in mock voting to familiarise themselves with the device.

The CEO said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has given stress to stop spread of paid news before and during the general election and Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMCs) have been formed in this regard.

To ensure free and fair election, the MCMCs would be vigilant against publication and airing of paid news items in print and electronic media.

The MCMCs have been set at the district level and the state level.

Sahu said the state level MCMC, with the CEO as the chairman, will attend to complaints of fake news and certify candidates' advertisements so that they do not violate the model code of conduct and monitor that a candidate's election expenditure does not exceed Rs 70 lakh.

Stating that Assam has 2,17,60,604 voters, Sahu said voters can apply online for correcting their names in the voters list or by downloading the Voter Helpline app, besides 'Subidha' app for checking candidates nomination papers, their affidavits and government dues.

A PWD app could also be downloaded by People With Disability for election personnel to visit them at home to enroll them as voters or make request for pick and drop them for enrolment, he added.

To a query if those whose names did not figure in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be barred from voting, the CEO said people who have their names in the voters list can exercise their franchise.