MARGAO
South Goa-based civil society group under the banner of South Goa Lok Sabha Polity (SGLSP) on Wednesday made a plea to ban Electronic Voting Machines to "ensure a fair and just election process".
Submitting a memorandum to the South Goa District authorities, the delegation said it is necessary to impose a ban on EVM to ensure elections are held fairly and transparently, insisting that voting by ballot paper is necessary to save democracy.
Referring to the 2013 Supreme Court judgment that equipping EVMs with VVPAT machines is indispensable, the forum said free, fair and transparent elections can be held only by 100 per cent tally of the VVPATs.
In the memorandum, the delegation pointed out that Indian EVM is banned even in technologically advanced countries.
The delegation comprising Jack Mascarenhas, Anthony D’Silva, Sheikh Iftiaza and others pointed out that in the first phase of the declared agitation programmes starting from Wednesday, the memorandum was given to the President of India through the Collector at the District Headquarters, South Goa.
The delegation appealed to the Collector to ensure that the EVMs should be banned and elections should be conducted using the Ballot Paper System.
“By doing so only, the faith of the citizens in Indian democracy can be restored. The Election Commission should be compelled to do so. If the Election Commission does not do so in the coming times, to save democracy in India, the agitation against EVMs by citizens will be made more vigorous, wide and fierce till the objective of conducting elections with the Ballot Paper System is restored,” the group stated.
