BENGALURU: State Election Commissioner GS Sangreshi on Friday said that switching back to paper ballots from electronic voting machines (EVMs), to conduct elections to local bodies, is not a regressive move as it is one of the best practices in democracy.
“Conducting the polls through ballot paper is not challenging and should not be construed as challenging just because it consumes more time. It may take some extra time, maybe two-three hours more, to count the votes. In fact, it is one of the best practices in democracy. What is wrong with ballots? They were used twenty years ago and certain developed countries, including the US, still use this method. If the government amends certain Acts and provides adequate staff and funds, the State Election Commission (SEC) is prepared to switch to ballots,” he told the TNIE.
“The Constitution does not say whether the polls should be conducted through EVMs or ballots, leaving the option to election commissions,” he added.
On Thursday, the state government, through a cabinet decision, recommended to the SEC to prepare the electoral list of panchayats and local bodies, including five corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), and conduct the polls using ballots instead of EVMs.
The SEC is anticipating an amendment to Section 35 of the GBA Act (as there is a provision) on the preparation of electoral rolls. This is similar to Section 23 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, Section 14 of the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and Section 165 of the Karnataka Grama Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993 that deal with the preparation of electoral rolls, he said.
We will prepare foolproof voters’ list: SEC
“Once the Acts are amended and the governor gives assent to the ordinance, the SEC will go ahead with the preparation of electoral rolls and it may take 2-3 months. For instance in GBA, there were 9,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and their numbers should be doubled,” Sangreshi said.
He hoped that the finance department would give its clearance for funds. “We will prepare the foolproof voters’ list timely, transparently and judiciously,” he said.
He said following the Supreme Court order, the government has to complete delimitation of wards by November 1 and fix the reservation matrix by November 30. Sangreshi said he does not feel that the government is trying to postpone the polls and noted that the GBA commissioner has already taken steps on the delimitation process. It will be done for zilla and taluk panchayats too in three months as some gram panchayats have been upgraded to taluk panchayats, he added.
He said SEC is an autonomous body and goes by the Acts. It need not take permission from the Election Commission of India to prepare its own electoral list and switch to ballot paper.
Around 25,000 EVMs that were over 15 years old will be disposed of after verifying the feasibility. The ECI has written to Bharat Electronics Ltd, the manufacturer, he added.
Former district judge Sangreshi was appointed SEC a year ago with a tenure of five years. He has been invited as an observer for polls in Georgia on October 4 and Estonia on October 19.