Allow paper ballots if good EVMs not available: UP SEC to EC

The State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday urged the Election Commission (EC) to allow it to hold elections for the posts of mayor and corporators of various civic bodies in Uttar Pradesh using the traditional paper ballots if it could not provide electronic voting machines (EVMs) in "good working condition".

"I had a word with Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi and requested him that the EC must provide latest EVMs which are in good working condition. Else, it should allow us to conduct the urban local bodies elections using paper ballots," State Election Commissioner S K Agarwal told PTI, adding that he was awaiting a reply in this regard.

The poll process for the urban local bodies across the state will have to be completed by the second week of July, he said, adding that the the State EC was currently working on delimitation of wards on a war footing.

In 2012, EVMs were used in the elections for the posts of mayors and corporators in 12 municipal corporations, while paper ballots were used in 194 nagar palika parishads and 423 nagar panchayats.

"In November 2016, we wrote to the EC requesting allotment of EVMs from Madhya Pradesh. Later, we were told by the Chief Electoral Officer of that state that the EVMs were sent to Maharashtra as per orders of the EC," Agarwal said.

The SEC had then urged the EC to provide EVMs from somewhere else.

"Then we came to know that the EVMs supposed to be used for the urban local bodies polls were pre-2006 models. The machines had outlived their utility and were discarded by the EC.

"I told Zaidi that if the EC considers the EVMs discarded, why was it giving them to us. This is a sensitive matter. If you are not able to give us the latest EVMs, we can conduct the urban local bodies elections with paper ballots," Agarwal said.

He added that he has urged the EC to give him in writing that the EVMs are old.

"Using discarded EVMs to conduct elections is not right. In the absence of latest EVMs, we may have to conduct the mayoral elections using paper ballots," said Agarwal.

Some political parties, including the Congress, have raised the issue of reliability of EVMs in the aftermath of recently-held Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh.