VIJAYAWADA: Stating that there is no truth in the news being circulated that VVPAT slips of 2024 general elections are being destroyed in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vivek Yadav clarified that paper rolls are removed from VVPATs 10 days after the completion of votes counting, if no EVM Checking and Verification request is received.
VVPAT slips taken out after counting of votes are preserved in sealed black envelopes as per Rule 94 of CoE Rules 1961 i.e. for one year and even beyond till disposal of Election Petition (EP), if any, the CEO said, adding that no VVPAT slips of the general elections to the Lok Sabha and Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly (2024) were destroyed.
Stating that candidates and their authorised agents will be allowed to witness the process and their signatures will also be obtained on every envelope, the CEO said that all the envelopes of a particular Assembly constituency must be kept in a separate trunk. The trunk must be sealed using red wax with the bilingual secret seal of the Commission provided to the Returning Officer. Similarly, mock poll VVPAT slips envelopes will also be kept in a separate trunk.
“Once the VVPAT paper slips have been taken out, they must be kept in a designated warehouse. They should not be kept in the same strong room where EVMs are stored, so that even if any election petition is filed from the constituency, the VVPAT units can be taken out for future use in subsequent elections, if required, without opening the strong room having EVMs,” the CEO explained. The entire process should be conducted under high quality CCTV recording/ videography and under the supervision of RO/ARO concerned, he said, adding that it must be made such a way that the entire process must be clearly visible.