The Election Commission of India on Tuesday addressed several allegations related to EVM tampering and manipulation of voter turnout data in the last hours of the polling. Responding to allegations of sudden jump in poll percentage post 5 pm, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar claimed it is “impossible” to change voter turnout data. “It is impossible to change voter turnout data, misconceived narrative is being spread on increase in voting after 5 pm,” he said.Kumar was addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for the Delhi Assembly elections.Responding to claims regarding addition and deletion in voter lists, the CEC asserted that “due process was followed rigorously” and there was “no room for any manipulation.””Stories on electoral rolls are still going on…Whichever claims and objections are raised, they are shared with each political party at the same time; draft is put up on the website; no deletion is possible until there is Form 7 produced…” he said. He also said false narratives are being spread regarding addition and deletion in electoral rolls.”Canards being spread about wrongful additions or deletions in electoral rolls to target particular groups,” he said.”Political parties were involved at each and every stage of voter list preparation with full disclosure and opportunity to object,” he claimed.Kumar asserted that not a single discrepancy has been found in votes counted through EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.”Let me tell the nation today. After the Supreme Court mandated in 2019 that five VVPATs must be counted from each assembly constituency, over 67,000 VVPATs have been checked. This translates to more than 4. 5 crore (VVPAT) slips being verified. And let me assure you that not even the difference of one vote has been found with the new machines since 2019,” he said.The CEC also pointed out that any minor errors, such as technical glitches in some of the older machines or mock poll data not being cleared, are handled with precision.”There could be instances where a machine’s data is set aside during the counting process. However, these instances are reviewed thoroughly and the slips are counted if they could potentially impact the victory margin,” he explained.The CEC reiterated the transparency and robustness of the election mechanism, dismissing allegations of vote tampering.”Our process is not only thorough but also transparent. Form 20, which contains the exact details of winners and losers, is handed over to all candidates,” Kumar said.The Election Commission has been subjected to scrutiny and demands for greater accountability, including the counting of all VVPAT slips, by opposition parties.
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