CHENNAI: To enhance polling transparency, 50 per cent of polling stations will be brought under web-camera surveillance, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told B Anbuselvan. He also believes that citizens’ participation to report poll code violations through the cVigil mobile application will be the game changer this time.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Based on the lessons learnt from 2016 Assembly elections, some officials within the Election Commission of India (ECI) had suggested constitution of village level committees to prevent money distribution. Any development on this front?
A: ECI has not issued any such direction so far. There are standard operating procedures for each team to prevent violations of moral code of conduct (MCC) norms. Personnel from Flying Squad Team (FST), Static Surveillance Team (SST), banks, financial institutions and others have been made aware of the SOPs to be followed to prevent cash distribution
Q: What other plans do you have to prevent money distribution?
A. The cVigil mobile application launched by ECI may help voters to communicate any MCC violations. The app captures the GPS location of pictures or videos recorded through it. As soon as voters post complaints through the app, the ECI system will receive GPS allocation, triggering alerts to nearby surveillance teams. This apart, voter helpline number 1950 will function round the clock.
Q: Are there any measures to enhance transparency in polling stations?
A. So far, the polling at stations that are identified as vulnerable and sensitive by police, was live streamed through web cameras. But, for the first time, we have decided to bring 50 per cent of polling booths (around 44,000) under web-camera surveillance on the polling day.
Q: Web cameras only record events. Are there plans to use advanced technology that raise alerts for black out, crowd gathering in poll booths?
A: No. The service provider will be penalised if the cameras black out
Q: Can the ongoing Assembly session continue on Saturday?
A: Yes, but the government cannot make any new announcements that could influence voters
