EVM hackathon from June 3, here are Election Commission's rules

Opposition parties had been demanding that allegations of EVM tampering be taken seriously

The Election Commission of India on Saturday threw open EVM challenge to political parties. Chief Election Commissioner of India Dr Nasim Zaidi said that starting June 3 state and national parties can attempt to hack, tamper or rig EVMs.

The Election Commission while throwing open the EVM challenge to political parties stated that three authorised persons can be nominated for the challenge. Those interested in the challenge will have to confirm before 5 PM on May 26. "ECI through this challenge will restore and enhance, faith and confidence of voters in EVM voting system," Dr Nasim Zaidi said.

Rules of the EVM challenge

• Political parties will be given a four-hour slot to prove that EVMs can be tampered with.

• The election commission made it clear that it will not allow circuits or machines from outside their headquarters.

• It also maintained that change of internal circuits will also not be allowed.
• The challenge will be open for four to five days, the CEC said. Changing of EVM components like motherboard will not be allowed
• Representatives of the political parties can press any key
• WiFi, Bluetooth and any internet device can be used
• The EVMs will have to be picked by from ECI's warehouse in Delhi at parties' own cost
• If a party fails to report at the alloted time without prior intimation, their challenge will be cancelled
• Each party can choose four EVMs from any four polling stations out of the five states where assembly elections were held.
  
• If the EVM stops functioning during the challenge or if the challengers violate rules, the challenge will be struck down

The Election Commission during a press conference on Saturday assured that the EVMs are tamper-free and threw open a challenge to anyone who can prove that EVMs can be rigged. The EVM hackathon is a result of allegations of EVM rigging by AAP, Congress, BSP and other political parties. Following the five state assembly elections, opposition parties had alleged that EVMs were rigged to give a favourable result to select political parties.

OneIndia News