The Election Commission of India's (ECI) day long conference with state poll panels got under way in New Delhi on Tuesday, with presentations on EVMs, ECINET and the sharing of electoral rolls topping the agenda.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that, in national interest and constitutional synergies, the ECI and state election commissions (SECs) should work together, keeping the elector in mind.
While the ECI is mandated to conduct elections to the posts of the President of India, the Vice-President, the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, state legislative assemblies and legislative councils, SECs are responsible for panchayat and municipal polls.
The previous conference was held in 1999.
The Commission also launched the book ‘A Confluence of Democracies’ at the round table, being held after a gap of 27 years.
"The day-long conference will include, presentations on EVMs, ECINET, and sharing of electoral rolls," a spokesperson said.
State poll panels take ECI's electoral rolls, used for assembly polls, and employ them as per their requirements for holding local body polls.
The shelf life of an EVM is 15 years, and machines at the end of their life cycle are usually given to state poll panels for holding local elections.
The ECI at present uses 'M3' or Mark III type of EVMs to hold Lok Sabha and assembly polls. The ECI does not charge states for using their EVMs. Once an EVM leaves the ECI's custody, it is no longer called ECI-EVM. Machines that complete their life cycle are destroyed under security.
The Union law ministry is provided funds in the Union budget to help ECI buy required EVMs from Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) -- the two PSUs which manufacture the voting machines.
The ECI will also offer to help state ECs develop technology platforms similar to ECINET, as well as training support for their officials in election management.
ECINET is a digital platform to simplify election related services.
Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all 36 states and UTs will also attend the event, the EC said.
"The primary objective of the round table conference is to foster synergies in the functioning of ECI and SECs with respect to electoral processes and logistics within their respective legal frameworks," the ECI had earlier said.
