A needless controversy: Govt should procure paper trail machines for EVMs

The controversy surrounding electronic voting machines (EVMs) refuses to die. A Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar will on Friday hear a plea seeking a probe into allegations of tampering of EVMs. The Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, which were decimated in the recent Assembly elections, have been vociferously questioning the poll results, claiming that EVMs used by the Election Commission (EC) were rigged. Even the Congress, which actually came out on top in three of the five states, has joined this chorus. Some leaders like Mayawati of the BSP have even gone to the extent of daring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to hold fresh elections in Uttar Pradesh. The CPI(M), Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have backed a demand by the BSP, the SP and the Congress that the government introduce voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, which produce a printout of the vote cast in an EVM. It is crucial to note in this regard that before its victory in the 2014 general elections, even the BJP had reportedly questioned EVMs.

This commotion in political circles has continued to grow despite the EC reaffirming its faith in EVMs and categorically rejecting all allegations against their functioning. Former election commissioners such as S Y Quraishi and H S Brahma, too, have denied any credibility issues with EVMs. The ban on EVMs in four European countries was due to a legal reason, not because the technology used had any flaw. However, there is a consensus that the growing chorus against EVMs by politicians will severely undermine the people’s faith in the electoral system. As such, the government and the EC will be well advised to quickly order the roll-out of VVPAT machines so that all doubts are put to rest. Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi is of the view that VVPAT machines will be a “game changer” and will “double and treble the voter’s confidence in EVMs”.

But the demand for VVPAT machines is not a new one. In 2013, the Supreme Court had ordered the EC to put in place VVPAT machines in a phased manner. In response, the EC had committed to have a VVPAT system ready in time for the 2019 general elections. But the EC’s repeated requests to the law ministry seeking funds (Rs 3,100 crore) for the purchase of approximately 1.6 million VVPAT machines have not been answered yet. Between June 2014 and October 2016, the EC wrote over 10 reminders to the government. Finally, it sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the government is guilty of dilly-dallying on who should be asked to make these machines since the public sector units that the EC has suggested have limited capacity. The EC has been of the view that private firms should not be involved, given the nature of the job — and this is a valid argument. If the decision is taken in time, the public sector firms could deliver. 

The EC has been caught in a bind and has even received two contempt notices from the apex court in the meantime. Exasperated, in January, the EC had told the government that if a decision was not taken by February, then it was unlikely that these machines would be available for use in the 2019 general elections. Clearly, we are past that deadline and since it will take roughly 30 months to procure all the machines, the government should order their purchase at the earliest. This is the best way out of this controversy.