In a bid to dispel the doubts about the working of electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Election Commission has decided to hold an open hackathon for people to try and hack the voting machines in the last week of May. Before this, the poll panel has called a meeting on the May 12 with the leaders of all major parties.
Last month, the poll panel had said it may invite experts, scientists, technocrats, and representatives of political parties to hack the machines, which it claims are tamper-proof. The Election Commission had announced a similar challenge in 2009 and no one could hack the EVMs.
Aam Admi Party led by Arvind Kejriwal had initiated the debate on voting machines by stating that its defeat in Punjab and at other places was calibrated entirely by malpractices. Even after the MCD polls results, many AAP leaders blamed EVMs for the defeat. Apart from this, many other Opposition parties, including the Congress, have alleged tampering of the EVMs after the recent Assembly elections. A delegation of 16 parties recently met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a memorandum on the alleged tampering of the voting machines during the February-March elections.
The parties have urged the Election Commission to revert to ballot system, claiming that the faith of the people in EVMs has been eroded.