Chandigarh, May 18
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, in collaboration with the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management, today organised a workshop here on the “Robustness of the Vote Counting Process.” Election officials from Punjab along with representatives from Chandigarh and Haryana participated in the workshop.
Addressing the inaugural session, Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, Anindita Mitra said that the Election Commission of India had entrusted the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, with the responsibility of conducting a study on robustness of the vote counting process, which has now been successfully completed. She informed that the study examined vote counting systems in 48 democratic countries across the world and concluded that India’s existing vote counting mechanism functions in a highly efficient and reliable manner.
Speaking during the workshop, study team member Dr. Abhinandan Bassi said that the study was conducted by analysing challenges and concerns arising before and after the counting of votes. She said that public perceptions and sentiments related to elections across the world were taken into account while assessing how the credibility and trustworthiness of the vote counting process could be further enhanced. She added that the more effectively every stage is implemented, right from sealing of EVMs before counting to their transportation, storage and declaration of results, the stronger and smoother the overall electoral process becomes.
On the occasion, the study report covering countries adopting EVM-based, ballot paper-based and hybrid election systems was also presented. The report highlighted how the electoral process can be conducted in the most efficient and transparent manner through the use of Electronic Voting Machines.
During the workshop, IAS officer Abhijeet Kaplish presented a comparative analysis of the vote counting processes followed in South Africa and India. He explained how the Representation of the People Act empowers citizens to elect their representatives. He further stated that India is currently among the leading nations in the use of technology during the electoral process and that elections in the country are conducted with a high degree of transparency and speed.
Joint CEO Navneet Kaur Bal, while addressing the gathering, said that greater efforts are required to further strengthen the integrity of the electoral process and ensure transparency in election results so that public confidence in India’s electoral system continues to grow stronger.
