Election Commission calls all-party meet on 12 May over EVM issue
The all-party meet convened by the Election Commission will discuss issues related to EVMs and VVPATs
New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has called for an all-party meeting on 12 May in the national capital to discuss issues related to electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).
The meeting will also discuss making bribery in elections a cognizable offence; disqualification of a candidate who is charged with bribery; and suggestions on paper trail recount rules, according to an official release by the EC.
The poll watchdog wrote to the presidents of seven national and 48 state parties on Thursday, informing them about the meeting, and sent them a status paper on EVM/VVPAT. The political parties have been asked to send in their responses by Saturday.
Several opposition parties have alleged that EVMs have either malfunctioned or been tampered with, even as the EC has maintained that they are tamper-proof.
A final date for a proposed hackathon of EVMs to be conducted by EC will be fixed after the all-party meeting.
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