India: Election Commission lauds Thane’s e-voting but BMC snubs the system, News | Mumbai Mirror

The State Election Commission is impressed with Thane Municipal Commissioner (TMC) R A Rajeev’s idea of counting the votes immediately after the polling, and will urge nine other civic corporations to follow suit. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is opposed to the idea, and will have the counting a day after the February 16 polls. In the system adopted by TMC, the polling stations are mapped and connected to a central server through SIM cards that will be used in a protected manner (Thane civic polls are slated for February 16). These SIM cards will be given to polling station staff through which they can communicate only to the control room number and the server.

India: Mammoth task: Officials to cover Maya’s statues in 3 days | Hindustan Times

Under Election Commission orders, the Uttar Pradesh administration started draping statues of chief minister Mayawati and the ruling BSP’s symbol in Noida on Sunday even as an official declared that it would be done fully in Lucknow on Monday. The Election Commission wants every statue of elephant and each statue of Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh should be covered by 5 pm on Wednesday.

Lucknow DM Anil Kumar Sagar said, “I received the written directives from the Election Commission on Sunday evening. The process of covering the statues will be started from Monday.” The work is likely to be executed by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).

This is going to be a mammoth task for the officials in Uttar Pradesh as there are ten Mayawati (each about 15 feet high) statues and 90 statues of elephant installed in 10 memorials and parks in Lucknow and two Mayawati statues and 52 elephant statues at the Noida park that will need to be covered.

India: Mayawati’s statues, Bahujan Samaj Party symbols to be draped today after Election Commission’s order | NDTV

The elephant motifs and her four faced statues in the company of Dalit greats were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s attempt to immortality. So, on Sunday, when acting on an Election Commission directive the departments that built her monuments came to mask them, they triggered politics and drama. In all, nearly 100 statues had to be covered in Lucknow and Noida.

First, the officials ran out of sheets and ideas. Then came the realisation that the Election Commission was yet to send an official order for covering the statues. So the covers came off. But, the Lucknow District Magistrate said in the evening that they have received the order and it will be implemented Monday onwards.

India: Election Commission removes UP’s police chief, principal secretary ahead of polls | The Times of India

The Election Commission (EC) late on Saturday directed state government to remove director general (DGP) of police Brij Lal and principal secretary home department Fateh Bahadur Singh from their respective posts. Lal and Bahadur have been replaced by Atul Kumar and Manjit Singh. The decision came after opposition parties demanded that the two officers should be removed if EC wants free and fair state assembly elections to be held in February.

The Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) in retaliation has cried foul describing removal of the two officers hailing from the schedule castes as an insult to the dalit community. The BSP also came down heavily on the EC for its order to drape chief minister Mayawati’s statue and those of elephants in various dalit memorials in view of elections. The EC directed to cover the statutes so that they cannot become a medium to influence votes because the election symbol of the BSP is elephant.

India: ‘Consider column for negative vote on Electronic Voting Machines’ | zeenews.india.com

The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked the Maharashtra Election Commission to consider including the column for ‘Negative Vote’ in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) so as to ensure secrecy.

A division bench headed by Justice D D Sinha was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Thane based doctor Mahesh Bedekar stating that when secrecy is maintained while a voter casts his vote for a candidate, the same should also be ensured when a person wants to cast a negative vote.

“By casting a negative vote, the voter decides not to vote for any of the available candidates. When a voter wishes to do so, he or she is asked to fill out a separate form and a register is also maintained with name and details of the voter. Chances of the person being harassed is there,” Sanjeev Gorwadkar, petitioner’s advocate argued.

India: Election Commission declares stringent steps for free and fair polls in Uttarakhand | NewsTrackIndia

Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi hereon Friday, issued strict guidelines to ensure free and fair assembly elections in Uttarakhand. Briefing the mediapersons about the preparations, the Chief Election Commissioner revealed that observer’s teams will keep a tab on all activities of the candidates to ascertain if they are indulging in resorting to money and muscle power including luring the voters with liquor.

“Our general observers and expenditure observers will keep an alert eye on money, muscle power and liquor during the state polls and they would check that any such things do not affect the elections,” said Qureshi. He mentioned that the Election Commission has specified all necessary guidelines and that it is monitoring the pre-polls process in the five states where polls are scheduled to take place.

India: Election Commission allows disbursement of relief funds, changes earlier decision | The Economic Times

Changing its earlier decision, the Election Commission has allowed the disbursement of relief funds, which it had earlier said had been deferred till the election process in Punjab, which goes to polls on January 30, was over. The Commission has further also allowed giving compensation to the farmers whose land was earlier acquired by the government. The EC conveyed that the same be disbursed only by the officers and not by any political leader.

Earlier, Punjab’s Chief Electoral Officer, had said the Commission has deferred the disbursement of relief funds till the election process in the state is over. “We have received a revised order in the evening only, as per which only the officers will be allowed to disburse the funds to the already identified beneficiaries,” Special Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab Usha R Sharma said.

India: Successful use of electronic voting machine in the maiden Comilla City polls could be a major challenge | Daily Star

With polling only eight days away, successful use of electronic voting machine (EVM) in the maiden Comilla City Corporation polls could be a major challenge for the Election Commission as many voters are still unfamiliar with the device. The EC, however, is confident that the much-talked-about machine will prove a success.

This is the first time the commission is going to use the EVM in the entire polling in any elections in the country. It will use 421 machines in as many booths in 65 polling centres. Besides, 65 more will be kept reserved on the polling day. Earlier the main opposition BNP decided not to back any candidate as the EC turned down its demands for army deployment and not using EVM.

India: No donkey, monkey in poll campaign: Election Commission | Mumbai DNA

The State Election Commission (SEC) has issued an order banning the use of animals by political parties during election campaigns. In a letter to all political parties, the SEC said donkeys, bulls, elephants and cows cannot be used for politics. Often donkey with blackened face are paraded on streets to highlight the failure of the government or portrayed as rivals.

“The political parties found misusing the animals to highlight any issues during the local bodies elections will be dealt firmly. The candidates have no business to inflict atrocities against animals to highlight the public cause. The politicians have been urged to show restrain in abusing each other taking animal names. Several instances of politicians calling each other donkeys or dogs have been brought to the election commission’s notice,” state election commissioner Neela Satyanarayan said on Friday.

India: SGPC to challenge HC verdict on Sehajdhari Sikhs’ voting rights | The Times of India

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee will be challenging the verdict delivered by Punjab and Haryana high court granting voting rights to Sehajdhari Sikhs, in the Supreme Court.

A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court gave a verdict the SGPC and the SAD went into a huddle to discuss the issue. The matter will also come up for in depth discussion in core committee meeting of SAD scheduled for Thursday evening.

“The SGPC will not take it lying down,” said Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, senior SAD leader. The newly elected SGPC is also likely to appeal to the Sikh Gurdwara Commission not to issue orders of re-election but to challenge the matter in the Supreme Court. On the flip side, on Wednesday, a delegation of Sehajdhari Sikhs met Sikh Gurdwara Commission chief H S Brar, and handed him over a copy of the HC verdict quashing the notification denying voting rights to them.

India: BJP says no to EVMs from Malkangiri | ibnlive.in

The BJP has petitioned the Election Commission against the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), procured from Malkangiri district, in Umerkote by-election in Nabarangpur district. In a memorandum to the Election Commission, the BJP alleged that the election officer of Nabarangpur district has violated the election handbook for the contestants by not inviting them for the first-level checking.

The second objection of the party was that the district election officer has not intimated the name of the nodal officer appointed by him to the political parties in the fray.

India: Parties oppose introducing electronic voting in the Maldives | HaveeruOnline

Most of the political parties have opposed the plan of introducing an electronic voting system in the Maldives, Elections Commission said today. Commissioner Fuad Thaufeeq said the parties made their remarks at the meeting held yesterday with the visiting International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) delegation to discuss on establishing an electronic voting system for future elections.

“Some noted that it’s wise to continue how voting takes place in the Maldives now while we noticed that most of them still need more information about how the system works. For instance, Adhaalath Party admitted that going along the technological advancements is an option but said they needed more information about the system,” he said.

India: E-voting kaput, BMC sets eyes on GIS maps | Indian Express

Even as the ambitious plan of introducing e-voting in the upcoming civic elections failed to take off, the BMC along with the State Election Commission now want to upload GIS maps on its election website to facilitate voting.

The plan is to acquire detailed GIS (geographic information system) maps of the 227 corporator wards, mark it with minute details on major and minor roads and mark every polling booth to help citizens.

India: Election commission issued detailed guidelines for proxy voting | Punjab Newsline

The Election Commission of India Monday issued detailed guidelines for proxy voting by armed forces personnel in the elections. According to  Kusumjit Singh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Punjab said that special provisions have been made in the law for facilitating registration of armed forces personnel and casting of votes by them.

By virtue of provisions under R P Act, 1950 a member of the Armed forces and his wife, if residing with him, can be registered as service voters in the last part of the electoral of the constituency in which his native place is located.

India: EC warns Punjab officials against repeat of SGPC polls omissions | Times Of India

They may have had no powers to take note of and stop the alleged irregularities and partisan activities committed during the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) elections, but the Election Commission of India has definitely been alarmed by what happened during the gurdwara polls recently.

That’s why, in a major snub to the state government, chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi told the administrative heads – the deputy commissioners and the divisional commissioner – on Saturday at Ludhiana that they knew “what exactly happened in Punjab during the SGPC elections and you dare not repeat this again.”

India: Security fears put spanner in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation e-voting plan | Indian Express

The plan to introduce e-voting and increase voter participation in next year’s BMC elections is expected to be shelved due to delays and security fears.
E-voting was considered as an option to facilitate voting for the urban middle class and increase their share in the overall voting percentage that was a dismal 47 per cent in 2007. The BMC and the State Election Commission were to jointly develop a system of online voting for the elections due in February.

But the BMC’s election department has received more than 30 objections from individuals and organisations against the implementation of e-voting, citing security concerns. An official from the election department said the system is not robust and can lead to rigging. “The plan was announced in February this year, but authorities sat on it for many months. Now, there is hardly any time left now and the demo trial is yet to take place. We have inspected the existing system and have observed a number of potential security breaches,” he said. The estimated cost of implementing e-voting is Rs 35 crore.

India: Opposition alleges irregularities in Tamil Nadu civic polls | The Hindu

The first phase of the civic polls for over 1.35 lakh local bodies in Tamil Nadu was on Monday marred by allegations of irregularities by opposition parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, against the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam as 28 per cent voters cast their votes by 11 a.m.

Besides complaints of names missing in voters’ list and glitches in Electronic Voting Machines, allegations of non-compliance of High Court order on video recording of the polling, lack of enough security and bogus voting were levelled by the DMK and other parties such as the Pattali Makkal Katchi.

India: Right to reject, recall may not work in India: Chief Election Commission S Y Quraishi | The Economic Times

Amid a campaign by Team Anna for polls reforms, the Election Commission has disfavoured any proposal to include the ‘Right to Reject’ or ‘Right to Recall’ clauses in election rules, saying they may not work in a large country like India.

Opposing the proposal to have a ‘Right to Recall’ as in many developed countries, Chief Election Commission S Y Quraishi has held that it will “destabilise” the country, especially in areas where “people already feel alienated”.

Bhutan: Election Commission of India to Train Bhutanese Election Officials | Northern Voices Online

Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. S. Y. Quraishi visited Bhutan from 16th – 18th September 2011 at the invitation of his counterpart Dasho Kunzang Wangdi for strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two Election Commissions. He was accompanied by Akshay Rout, Director General.

The two Chief Election Commissioners signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a period of five years to facilitate exchange of knowledge and experience, information, material, expertise and technical knowhow, training of personnel and development of human resources in electoral matters and also for taking up joint initiatives and providing assistance to others.

India: Online voting not feasible: Chief Election Commissioner | Times of India

Making voting hi-tech will make the entire democratic process of voting an unsafe venture, feels S Y Quraishi, Chief Election Commissioner of India. He said on Tuesday that India was not yet ready for bringing in technology into the voting system. The CEC spoke to TOI on the utility of the voter ID cards and put the onus on the citizen to step out and vote. Excerpts:

Is e-voting feasible for India? Technology is not an issue for implementing e-voting. But it is not feasible in India at this point of time. How do we know who is voting on whose behalf? It is not possible to provide security for every voter with a gunman behind him/her. Online voting is not good, though it looks simpler.

India: Proposal to include ‘none of above’ option on electronic voting machines pending with government, says Election Commission | India Today

Days after anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare announced his next campaign would be to get “the right to recall and reject”, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has reacted in favour.

Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, on Monday, said that a proposal to introduce the option of “none of the above” on electronic voting machines (EVMs) was already pending with the government.

India: Anna Hazare’s call on right to reject and right to recall rekindled debate over electoral concepts | The Economic Times

Anna Hazare’s call on Sunday for theright to reject and right to recall rekindled the debate about these electoral concepts that have been going on in some corners.  Right to reject – the idea that there should be an option on a ballot paper (or a voting machine) to reject all candidates – has been debated in India for some time. This proposal was part of the recommendations on electoral reforms the Election Commission made to the government in 2004, when TS Krishnamurthy was chief election commissioner.

This idea is also known as negative voting or neutral voting. Currently, if a person does not wish to cast her vote for any candidate, there is an option to record this decision with the presiding officer under Section 49 (o) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961. However, this has no bearing on the poll outcome. The neutral voting concept, on the contrary, will have a bearing on the poll outcome. Various filters can be designed to disqualify a candidate rejected by a majority of the people. Swami Agnivesh and several others have been supporters on the right to reject idea.

India: Goans increasingly vying for Portuguese nationality | Financial Express

The number of Goans opting for the Portuguese nationality has risen steadily over the last three years, according to the Election Commission statistics.
As per the records available with the state office of the Election Commission of India, as many as 1855 Goans have become Portuguese nationals in the last three years and more are catching up.

According to the statistics, the trend is fast becoming a rage as 312 people chose to be Portuguese nationals in year 2008 followed by 432 in 2009 and 807 in 2010.

India: Wrong to deny voting rights to Sehajdhari Sikhs: Amarinder | Express India

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday criticised the denial of voting rights to Sehajdhari Sikhs in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) polls. Amarinder, who interacted with students outside the Punjabi University campus during the ‘Ru-baru’ (face to face) programme organised by the National Students Union of India (NSUI), said that it was “wrong” to deny Sehajdhari Sikhs voting rights in the elections.

Asked why his party does not contest SGPC polls, Amarinder said Congress was a national and secular party, which does not contest polls relating to religion. He, however, added that as a Sikh, he will oppose and vote against the Akali candidates.

India: ‘Electronic Voting Machines used in last polls not free of all doubts’ | The Assam Tribune Online

The controversies surrounding the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) refuse to die. A group of seven legal practitioners of the Mangaldai Bar Association have disclosed some sensational information regarding EVMs collected with the help of RTI Act which will make every concerned citizen observe that the EVMs were not free from all doubts.

According to Jayanta Deka, one senior member of the group, the election authority here did not have any certificate from the experts that the EVMs used in the last Assembly election were a tamper proof. This was revealed by the District Election Officer, Darrang following a RTI petition filed by advocate Jayanta Deka and six of hiscolleagues. In the RTI petition to the District Election Officer cum Deputy Commissioner, Darrang it was asked whether the experts from the EVM manufacturing organisations issued any certificate that the EVMs were free of tampering. In the petition the district election authority was also asked to provide a photocopy of such certificate. But the authority failed to provide any such certificate as the EVM manufacturing company had not submitted any such certificate to the election authority.

India: Maharashtra governor calls for online voting | Mumbai DNA

The state governor, K Sankaranarayanan, has advocated major electoral reforms in the form of introduction of online voting system in elections. He was speaking at the launch of the official website of the state election commission at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (Yashada), in Pune on Tuesday.

“If we can have online banking, why can’t we have online voting?’’ he asked, making a strong plea for the educated to be involved in the process of elections and the political system at large. “There is a general feeling that the political process is too corrupt to be involved in. It is wrong to blame politicians for all ills in society,’’ he said.

India: Gujarat panchayat poll: Ballot boxes back in fashion | DNA India

The State Election Commission (SEC) may have encouraged online voting during the municipal elections but it is going back to ballots and boxes for the polls to be held in more than 11,000 gram panchayats later this year.

Sources in the SEC indicated that the commission doesn’t have enough electronic voting machines (EVMs) to conduct the gram panchayat elections. “The commission is considering various options to conduct the elections and has not yet taken a final decision. There are not enough EVMs in the state to hold elections in more than 11,000 gram panchayats of Gujarat,” an official said. The official further said that there are currently around 40,000 EVMs in the state which can be used to conduct the gram panchayat elections.

India: Setback to Election Commission as India paper trail pilot poll reports errors | menafn.com

In a setback to the Election Commission (EC), its pilot poll conducted on Sunday to establish a paper trail for electronic voting machines (EVMs) reported significant errors.

Preliminary results of the EC pilot poll indicated discrepancies between votes polled in EVMs and the paper trail, according to three people involved and familiar with the testing process. Two of them are EC officials who confirmed the mismatch, but did not give any more details. EC will release a comprehensive report on the pilot poll in a few days.

“Even a difference of one vote is not acceptable,” said one of the EC officials, who, like the other EC official familiar with the matter, asked not to be identified given the controversial nature of the findings.

India: New voting machine with paper trail tested | News One

Braving the rain, people Tuesday participated in a mock poll in Cherrapunjee, one of the wettest places on earth, using a new electronic voting machine that gives out a paper trail as proof of the voting. The simulated polling was held on the Voter Verifiable Paper Trial (VVPT) system. It was conducted by the Election Commission in 36 polling stations under Sohra assembly constituency.

‘I found the new voting machine much more transparent compared to the electronic voting machines,’ said Mary Queen Nongbri after exercising her vote in a VVPT system, developed by the Electronic Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).

Similarly, Wanropbor Umdor, who also tested the new VVPT system, said, ‘The new voting machine should replace the electronic voting machines to ensure free and fair voting.’

India: India, US to take fair poll practices to West Asia, Africa | TMCnet

World’s biggest democracies, India and United States, have joined hands to help building up strong electoral institutions in emerging democracies, especially in middle-east and Africa. As part of the collaboration, the Election Commission’s newly started International Institute for Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) and Washington DC based International Federation of Electoral Systems (IFES) will work together to strengthen election management capacity in the interested countries.

“We will be training officials from middle-east and African nations in conducting free and fair elections,” chief election commissioner SY Quraishi told HT, a day after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in Chennai described the commission as a “gold standard” institution. Reaction to her statement, the CEC said, “We feel the credibility and reputation of Election Commission has gone beyond our boundaries”.