Opposition renews call for 50pc EVM checks, moves Supreme Court again

New Delhi, Apr 24: As many as 21 Opposition parties have filed a review petition before the the Supreme Court once again over EVMs malfunctioning across three phases of the Lok Sabha election.

The renewed call comes over two weeks after the top court ordered the poll body to cross-check voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips of five randomly selected EVMs in every constituency instead of just one in the Lok Sabha elections.

Alleging manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, along with Opposition leaders including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on Tuesday demanded counting of 50 per cent of the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

Naidu claimed that only 18 countries have so far adopted EVMs. "Our demand is that the Election Commission must count 50 per cent of VVPAT slips. If there is a difference between EVM count and VVPAT slips, then VVPAT slips should prevail.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had ordered that Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips of five electronic voting machines in every constituency be counted instead of just one EVM in the ongoing elections.

The court said this practice will ensure the "greatest degree of accuracy, satisfaction" in the election process.

The court passed the order on a petition filed by 21 Opposition parties who sought direction to verify at least 50% of the votes cast in the Lok Sabha elections using the VVPAT machines.