Kochi: Election Commission of India has decided to introduce colour photographs of candidates on electronic voting machines (EVMs) and increase the font size of candidate names as part of a new initiative for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said in Kochi.
Kumar also stated that all polling stations in the state would have 100 per cent webcasting. He added that facilities would be arranged at polling booths for depositing mobile phones, while voters would be allowed to carry their phones up to the entrance gate of polling stations.
Defending the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted across the country, the Chief Election Commissioner said the exercise aimed to ensure that electoral rolls remain accurate, TNIE reported.
According to him, clean and reliable voter lists form the foundation of a healthy democracy, and the revision process was intended to ensure that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible person is included.
On the issue of hate speech and violations of the Model Code of Conduct, the Commission urged voters and political parties to make wider use of the cVIGIL app to report violations during elections.
The app allows citizens to submit photo or video evidence of electoral malpractices through GPS-tagged and time-stamped submissions, which can also be made anonymously, with complaints promised to be resolved within about 100 minutes.