Photo ID cards before '09 LS poll: CEC

Chennai, Nov 5 (UNI) The Election Commission (EC) of India is making all-out efforts to give voters' identity cards to all the eligible voters before 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalsamy, speaking to newspersons before leaving for Delhi here today, said the reason behind the Commission's vigorous efforts to provide Photo ID cards to all voters was to complete the preparation of the photographic voters list.

Voters ID card is mandatory for updating the photographic voters list, he added.

He said all the voters in Kerala and Union territory of Puducherry were provided photo ID cards. Efforts were on to achieve the same in Tamil Nadu and would be complete before the year end, he added.

To a question he said, the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) a introduced during 2004 Lok Sabha elections throughout the country was excellent.

He also said the Commission was making all kinds of preliminary arrangements to hold the elections in four states including Punjab.

He was non-committal to the reported demand by some political party leaders to reintroduce the ballot paper system.

UNI RV JJ AKJ RN2036