CEC again dismisses allegation of EVM tampering

New Delhi, Oct 15 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday once again dismissed charges of possible tampering with EVMs or their batteries and also suggested introspection over the sample size chosen by exit poll agencies to avoid distorted expectations. 

The CEC also promised to come out with an FAQ to dispel doubts about EVMs.

He said over the past few elections, outcomes of exit polls have been creating distorted expectations and all responsible for this issue need to consider steps for self-regulation.

"The gap between expectation and reality can lead to frustration," he said, criticising some TV channels for running incorrect trends in an alleged bid to match the findings of their exit polls.

Addressing media persons after announcing the dates of the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, CEC Kumar was replying to a question on the difference between the results of the Haryana Assembly elections and the drastically opposite projections by exit polls.

The CEC also ruled out any scope for EVM tampering and promised to reply to all 20 candidates in recent elections who filed complaints related to the voting machine malfunction in the recent Assembly polls.

“The answers will carry details of when the battery was commissioned and where all it was used,” he said.

Expressing displeasure at rumours about EVMs, he said that sometimes it is said pagers can be tampered with, so EVMs can also be tinkered with, and sometimes it said the vote does not go to the candidate whose button is pressed.

Indirectly answering the doubts raised by some Haryana Congress candidates who lost the election, the CEC said the batteries are loaded into EVMs at the time of commissioning and even candidates’ agents are made to sign on the seal.

Some Congress candidates had complained on the counting day on October 8 that some of the EVMs were charged up to 99 per cent despite use for voting.

To this, the CEC said: "EVMs have a single-use battery that is used at a stretch for five years. After commissioning, it is checked in mock polls, mock polls are also held at polling stations and the number of candidates is also different in all seats."