Leader of the opposition, Dr Mukul Sangma of the Congress, today questioned why the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) was not used in today’s election to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
VVPAT provides feedback to voters during the use of an electronic voting machine. A VVPAT allows voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.
“There seems some malafide intention due to which VVPATs, as has been mandated for polls, have not been used. The non-use already leaves a lot of questions,” said the former CM after casting his vote in the Chengompara polling station.
Furthermore Dr Sangma raised objections to the clubbing of two to three polling stations into one, stating that this caused inconvenience for villagers who had to walk miles to cast their vote.
