76.86% polling in phase 2 of civic poll
Picture for representational purpose.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Election Commission has ordered re-poll in 114 booths on Friday, including 105 in Malappuram district and nine in Thrisur district, besides deciding to go for a comprehensive probe into the mass malfunctioning of electronic voting machines. The nature of the probe will be decided later.
In the second phase of poll to the local bodies held in seven districts on Thursday, 76.86 per cent vote was recorded. The total percentage recorded in the two phases is 77.35. In the 2010 local body elections, the total percentage was 76.32.
State Election Commissioner K. Sasidharan hinted at sabotage behind the malfunctioning of such a large number of EVMs. “We can only view malfunctioning of this scale as an ‘unusual incident.’
All instances of EVM malfunctioning cannot be considered as technical snag. In almost all places, the mock polling was held without any snag. Hence, a comprehensive probe is required into the matter to know the actual reason. The type of probe will be decided later,” he told mediapersons.
The malfunctioning of EVMs was reported from over 350 polling booths; about 270 in Malappuram district and about 50 in Thrissur. There were reports that in many places, gums and cellotapes were found on the voting panels, which led to the suspicion of sabotage.
However, SEC sources said it could be confirmed only after the evaluation by forensic and technical experts. The malfunctioning was reported in the pressing panel of multi-post units.
The EC also said that re-polling would be held under tight security, including video surveillance. The decision for re-polling was taken as per the directions of the respective district collectors.
Though there was a charge about the lapses on the part of Malappuram district collector T. Bhaskaran, the election commission denied it.
Earlier, Mr Bhaskaran had told reporters that there was no indication of sabotage. He also said that some of the EVMs that were replaced with the defunct ones also malfunctioned.
All major political parties demanded a probe into the incident as well as re-polling in booths where the voting process was affected for more than three hours. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy urged the Election Commission to conduct a swift investigation into the matter. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the police would conduct a detailed probe as per SEC direction.
There were reports of malfunctioning of EVM's even during the first phase of elections on Monday. However, the SEC maintained that the poll process had been affected only in about 20 places and most defects were reported in single-post EVMs, especially the old ones.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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