Opposition Demands Return To Paper Ballot

New Delhi: Six Opposition parties met in New Delhi on Sunday to launch a united attack on electronic voting machines (EVMs) and call for a return to the ballot paper.

The development comes two days after the first phase of general elections and three days before the next, reports NDTV. “We are raising doubts about the EVMs. The confidence of the voter can only be restored through paper trail machines,” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, a key interlocuter of the Opposition, told mediapersons. He cited how advanced countries like Germany used EVMs from 2005-09 and returned to the paper ballot.  The Netherlands tried EVMs from 1990-2007 and again returned to the paper ballot. Ireland used EVMs from 2002 to 2004 and then went back to the paper ballot. “They made it clear why they have gone back to the paper ballot,” Naidu said.

There have been widespread complaints of EVM malfunction in Andhra Pradesh, where Assembly polls are taking place simultaneously. As per “official information” 4,583 EVMs had got stuck in the state, but the deputy election commissioner later said there was no problem with the EVMs in Andhra Pradesh.