The VVPAT and EVM tussle continues even as the world’s largest democracy is just two days away from the final result which decides who forms the new government in 2019.
The leaders of 22 opposition parties submitted a memorandum before the EC, requesting that the verification of VVPAT slips of randomly identified polling stations should be done prior to the initiation of counting of votes and not after the completion of last round of counting. They also demanded that in case of a discrepancy, the entire assembly’s tally should be undertaken.
The EC is yet to respond to this.
For an election process that is so vast, spread out and complex, we need to pat the EC for doing it nearly perfectly. Pointing fingers at the system has multi-dimensional outcomes. Not only does it bring in the element of doubt but also does away with the robustness of a complex system.
Yes, clashes and issues have happened and they have been dealt with. Beyond this, the sanctity of a legitimate process that helps us decide our new government, has to be respected.
The opposition needs to ensure they do not go beyond the required in their plea. The idea should be to be a part of the process, not doubt it.
