Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission of India (ECI) Friday said that they are all prepared for conducting free and fair elections in Odisha and asserted that they are ready to counter any hindrance to the democratic process.
Talking to the media here, Election Commissioner (EC) Ashok Lavasa informed that this will be the first time that the commission will be using IT-based tools to guide the electorate as well as the political parties to make the election procedure easy for both.
“For the first time in Odisha, we are introducing some IT-based tools, which were used in the five states where Assembly polls were held recently. We have introduced apps like ‘Samadhan’ for voters to file complaints, ‘Suvidha’ as a single window system for nominations, permissions, results etc and eVigil that will be activated once election dates are announced,” Lavasa said.
Lavasa also informed that this time the number of polling booths in the state will increase from the 35,896 in 2014 to 37,606. According to him, the percentage of women voters in the state have also increased.
Lavasa told reporters that hardly any political party in the state has raised the issue of EVMs. “No political party in Odisha has complained about the use of EVMs. However, some parties have demanded that at least 50 per cent of the counting should be done through VVPAT systems and we will take care of it.”
The EC also said that there will be options to help the differently-abled people to exercise their franchise. “Some of the EVMs will have Braille option and they can be used by the visually impaired,” Lavasa pointed out. “We will provide assistance to differently-abled people in every booth. We are also trying to provide transport facilities to these people,” he added. The Election Commissioner further said that district monitoring committees will be formed to keep a track of the menace of ‘paid’ news. The EC has also requested the IT Ministry to bring social platforms under the ambit of the ‘Media’ to prevent spread of fake news.
Moreover the ECI reiterated that they will ensure that the use of money and power does not affect the electoral process. Lavasa said that CCTV cameras would be installed in sensitive booths for surveillance.
The ECI in its detailed preparedness note said that the officers have been asked to take effective and visible measures, Jail inspections will be carried out to ensure convicts or undertrials lodged there remain confined and do not indulge in undesirable activities. More comprehensive arrangement of GPS-enabled squads, static surveillance team and checking at border check post will be done.
Lavasa meanwhile reiterated that just possessing a voter ID card alone does not make an electorate fit for voting, he said, “The voters will have to check their status in list at the polling booth and take actions accordingly.”
The ECI also said that registration for new voter cards or changes in existing voter cards is still open and a voter can get registered even 10 days before the last day of nomination of candidates.
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