Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
The authorities on Friday stated that there was no proposal to make use of remote Electronic Voting Machines in any upcoming elections. The RVMs would additionally not be used for NRI voters.
According to the Election Commission (EC), it has not proposed to introduce the RVM for the upcoming elections in the nation, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated informed the Lok Sabha.
While the Lok Sabha polls can be held in 2024, a number of Assembly elections are scheduled to be held this yr.
The Election Commission had stated that the remote EVMs would enable migrant voters to train their franchise and had circulated an idea word to all nationwide and state political events on Dec 28. It had additionally solicited written views from the events by Jan 31.
The Election Commission had on Jan 16 invited political events for demonstration of a prototype remote EVM. However, the scheduled demonstration couldn’t be held because the events raised objections to the shortage of consultations. The date for submission of written replies was additionally postponed to Feb 28.
“The prototype RVM developed by ECIL is a robust and stand-alone system based on the existing EVMs… Independently, various statutes — the Representation of People Act, 1950, and the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Conduct of Election Rules and various guidelines and instructions of the EC will ensure that the confirmation/genuineness of voter identity is verified,” Mr. Rijiju stated.
The regulation minister clarified in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that the EC had knowledgeable him that the RVM isn’t proposed for the usage of NRI voters.
Replying to a separate query, Mr. Rijiju stated there was no proposal to control the funds of political events.
From time to time, the federal government has taken steps to carry electoral reforms to enhance the prevailing electoral practices in the nation.
“Electoral reforms are continuous and ongoing process and in order to improve the existing electoral practices in the country, the government, after examining various proposals of the Election Commission of India, implements the same through various amendment Acts from time to time,” he stated.