PANAJI
State Election Commission, has however, dismissed suggestions, that secrecy during polls was compromised.
“As you are aware, the ballot paper has two parts separated by a perforation. While one part was issued to us on which we cast our vote and inserted in the ballot box, the other part, a slip was retained by the presiding officer at the polling station. However, both these parts have an identical serial number on them and therefore it can easily be identified as to which voter has utilised which ballot paper,” a complainant said in his plaint to the State Election Commission.
The other part, which is the counterfoil, has the voter’s signature as well his serial number as recorded on the voting list and a simple tallying of the serial numbers on the ballot paper and the counterfoils will indicate who has voted for whom.
Not just that, the election officer in her copy of the voter’s list has indicated the serial number of the ballot paper used by the voter against his name. Access to the ballot paper, will indicate which voter was given that ballot paper and who he voted for.
The State Election Commissioner, however, has argued that no one will have access to either the ballot papers or the counterfoils and as such the scenario is hypothetical.
“The counterfoils are part of the election material and will be kept in the strongroom. No one will have access to them,” Srivastava told reporters at his evening briefing press conference.
“Given the situation, the establishment can therefore easily identify who we have voted for thus violating the secrecy of our vote which is unacceptable under the constitutional scheme of things,” the complainant said.
