ECI Issues Guidelines For EVM Verification for Runners-Up at Rs 40,000 + GST

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released guidelines to allow the first two runners-up to seek verification of the EVM controller units after the official results are declared on June 4.

Candidates securing second and third in a constituency will be able to seek verification of the EVM microcontroller for alleged tampering. Candidates are required to pay Rs 40,000 plus 18 percent GST for the verification of each EVM unit, including the control unit, VVPAT, and ballot unit. If any irregularities or evidence of tampering are found, the amount will be refunded. The deadline has been set for June 10.

The entire process of checking and verification will be conducted in the presence of the candidates and the engineers of the EVM manufacturers’ Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The entire process will take roughly two months after the result declaration.

The district election officer will be responsible for the whole process.

Candidates may be asked to check five percent of the voting machines in each assembly constituency falling within the Lok Sabha constituency. For instance, for an assembly constituency and assembly segment that has used 400 ballot units, 200 control units, and 200 VVPATs in a poll, the verification will be restricted to 20 ballot units, 10 control units, and 10 VVPATs.

The first and second runners-up will be allowed to pick a set of units based on either polling station numbers or unique serial numbers of the control unit, ballot unit, and VVPAT.

In case of any doubts regarding irregularities, the candidates who have secured second and third place will be required to check the control unit within seven days of the result declaration, as the deadline has been set for June 10.

In the case of a constituency where an election petition has been filed challenging the result in court, the verification will only be done after the candidate gets an approval order from the court for the same to permit the verification process.

Within two weeks, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) will consolidate all district-wise and state-wise verification applications and forward them to the ECIL and BEL. The process is expected to be wrapped up within 30 days of the declaration of the result.