THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The cVIGIL app launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for citizens to report any violation of the model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha elections has received an overwhelming response in the state.
According to the data released by ECI, the state topped among other states in terms of the number of complaints registered via the app. The state also had the highest complaint settlement percentage. Of the total 1,24,424 complaints received by the ECI through the cVIGIL app, 64,020 complaints – more than half – were registered from Kerala alone. As for the settlement of the complaints, the state had a success rate of 92 per cent against the national average of 78 per cent.
Chief Electoral Officer-Kerala Teeka Ram Meena said in comparison, the total number of complaints received from all the other states and union territories combined was 60,404.“Of the total complaints received from Kerala, 58, 617 were found to be genuine by the Returning Officer/Assistant Returning Officer,” he said.
Meena said the complaints mainly pertained to illegal pasting and installation of hoardings or posters, hate speech, campaigning near polling booths among others.
According to the ECI, through cVIGIL, a citizen can report incidents of misconduct within minutes of witnessing them, without having to rush to the office of the returning officer. The photo or video is to be uploaded on the app. Automated location mapping will be done by the app using the Geographic Information System. The complainant’s identity will be kept confidential.