Election The commission on Monday held consultations with recognized national and state political parties on its proposal on remote voting, with most opposition parties pressing for a broad consensus on the legal, administrative and logistical framework, including the definition of domestic migrants. was also involved. ,
While some parties witnessed the demonstration of the prototype Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM), others stayed away saying that technological intervention can wait before developing a consensus on legal and administrative issues.
Sources in the poll panel said that some political parties have requested the demonstration of remote voting machines in states as well.
While the poll panel had invited eight national and 57 state parties recognized by it, 40 state parties attended the meeting. Representatives of all eight national parties participated in the consultations.
The parties agreed with the broad objectives of making every effort to include non-voting voters in the electoral process in stakeholder consultations on electoral issues held after a gap of five years. He also suggested more such discussions on a regular basis in future.
On the request of the parties, the poll panel extended the date for submission of their written views on various issues on RVM to 28 February. The earlier date was January 31.
Representatives of political parties later said that the Election Commission has assured that it will go ahead with remote voting only after a consensus is reached among the stakeholders.
No opposition party wants to see the performance of Remote Voting Machine (RVM). First the issue of requirement of such a machine should be resolved,” senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh told reporters after attending a meeting of political parties convened by the Election Commission to demonstrate the working of the RVM.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said he felt that there would be no RVM protest until a consensus was reached. He said that no political party is ready to see the protest.
Singh said, “The idea of RVM is not acceptable.
The Congress leader said the Election Commission should also address the issue of urban apathy towards the election process.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh also questioned the need for RVM, saying there are other ways to increase voter participation.
“How will we campaign among eligible overseas voters in different states using RVM? When there is a by-election on one seat in Jalandhar, how will smaller parties campaign among eligible migrant voters who may be located in different states… RVM is not acceptable,” he said.
The Election Commission had invited representatives of eight national and 57 recognized state parties for the RVM demonstration here.
The commission has said that the RVM, developed by the Electronics Corporation of India, a public sector undertaking, will be a standalone device which will not be connected to the internet in any way.
The Election Commission said last month that the initiative, if implemented, could be a “social change” for migrants.
Each machine can handle 72 constituencies, allowing migrant voters to cast their votes from remote polling stations.
In a letter to political parties last month, the Election Commission had said that domestic migrants/internal migrants do not form a distinctly identifiable and countable category in the existing norms and standard definition.
“There is no central database available for migration within the country for the purpose required for the matter under discussion (remote voting). The Registrar General of India, the Ministry of Labor and Employment and the National Sample Survey Organization place different meanings on the term ‘migrant’,” it said.
“The current multiple meanings of ‘overseas’, periodicity and lack of clarity in the purpose of ‘absence from place of origin’. According to the 2011 census, 45.36 crore Indians (37 per cent). India are migrants, i.e. now settled at a place different from their previous residence, however, 75 per cent of such migrations are due to marriage and family-related reasons,” the letter said.
“It is also to be noted that internal migration is predominant among the rural population and is mostly intra-state (about 85 per cent),” it said.
In a recent statement on the issue, the poll panel had pointed out that the voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections 2019 was 67.4 per cent and the Election Commission was concerned about the issue of voter turnout and voter turnout of over 30 crore voters. in various States/UTs.
A senior official said on Monday that migrants, youth and others are among the 30 crore voters who did not turn up at the polling stations.
The Election Commission has also been raising the issue of ‘urban apathy’ where people do not turn up to vote.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)