CPI-M, NCP do not take part in EVM challenge, only sought demonstration

NEW DELHI: The CPI-M and NCP, the only two parties that agreed to accept the Election Commission's EVM challenge, on Saturday did not take part in the test to prove the reliability of electronic voting machines (EVMs). While the CPI-M expressed "satisfaction" after a demonstration, the NCP said they did not want to participate in an EVM challenge, but were only interested in it as an academic exercise. The EC said the NCP could come back later to access the "memory and battery numbers" by opening the machines themselves, as they had demanded. Briefing reporters after the EVM challenge at the Nirvachan Sadan, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi said the issue of "tamperability of machines" should be closed with the end of the challenge. Zaidi said the Communist Party of India-Marxist conveyed that they did not wish to participate in the challenge but only wanted to understand the EVM process. He said the CPI-M members were given a detailed demonstration by the commission about EVMs by the technical team of the Commission, and they were "satisfied". Zaidi said the Nationalist Congress Party members conveyed that they were keen to treat the challenge as an "academic exercise". The NCP had asked for the memory and battery numbers of the EVMs four days ahead of the challenge. Zaidi said: "They (NCP) were informed about the reply the Commission had given earlier to their request saying that EVMS could not be opened and memory and battery numbers taken out in the absence of the party representatives at the Commission. They were also informed that the party could access these numbers at the time of Challenge by opening themselves the sealed EVMS," said Zaidi. The NCP, however, submitted a letter saying they cannot participate in the challenge because of "non-provision of this information", said the EC. The NCP also protested about being asked to choose among 14 EVMs. According to the EC, the NCP was twice offered to participate in the Challenge or by way of academic exercise by the selecting the EVM and then accessing the memory and battery numbers by opening the machines themselves. The poll panel had released the challenge framework on May 20 following allegations by some opposition parties of large-scale tampering of EVMS over the results of assembly polls to five states held in February-March and the Delhi civic polls. The Aam Aadmi Party has announced its own parallel EVM hackathon after it did not agree to the stipulations laid down by the EC. The Election Commission has already announced that future elections will be held using VVPAT.