Poll process set in motion with EVM dry run

SHILLONG, DEC 18: The 2500 electronic voting machines (EVMs) had their dry run on Tuesday.

A team of engineers from the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) conducted the first level checking of the EVMs in the presence of the representatives of political parties. A mock poll featuring participants from Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, UDP, HSPDP and KHNAM formed part of the exercise.

“As many as 2500 EVMs have arrived and representatives from all political parties actively took part at a mock poll to check for any
flaws in the machines,” said state chief election officer P. Naik. The first level checking, he said, is a process in which all EVMs are thoroughly checked and the whole work is carried out under video surveillance.

The state, of course, has sought around 4000 EVMs in 2400 polling stations across the state.

Engineers clean up machines, replace batteries and conduct other checks during the exercise. If an EVM is found faulty, it is replaced. Officials said the faulty machines cannot be repaired or opened by engineers on the field and the entire process is monitored by an additional district magistrate.
The checking continues tomorrow with more representatives of political parties expected to cast at least 1000 votes each in 5 per cent of the EVMs, officials explained, adding that the printouts will also be taken out to find out the sequences of votes polled.
The elections to the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly are scheduled to
be held early next year. The state election department is expected to publish the draft photo electoral rolls in all 60 Assembly seats by the first week of January. (By Our Reporter)

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