The Election Commission of India (ECI) has completed the first phase of randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units in poll-bound Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, officials said on Saturday.
The exercise, conducted by district election authorities using the EVM Management System, was carried out in the presence of representatives from recognised political parties to ensure transparency. Only those machines that successfully cleared the mandatory First Level Checking (FLC) were included in the randomisation process.
Under the established two-stage protocol, the first randomisation involves the allocation of EVMs and VVPATs from district warehouses to Assembly constituencies. In the second phase, to be conducted later, these machines will be randomly assigned to specific polling stations.
Officials said the process is designed to eliminate any possibility of tampering or prior knowledge about the deployment of machines at particular booths, thereby strengthening the credibility of the electoral process.
Following the completion of the first phase, constituency-wise lists of allocated machines have been shared with political party representatives. The EVMs and VVPATs are now being kept in secured strong rooms under round-the-clock surveillance.
The ECI has also assured that detailed records of both stages of randomisation will be made available to candidates after the completion of nominations, in line with its commitment to conducting free and fair elections.
The development marks a key milestone in election preparedness ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in the three regions.
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