New Delhi :Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission has issued detailed instructions regarding the maintenance of EVM machines used for elections. The Secretary of the Commission, Shri Rakesh Singh has given instructions to the Collectors and District Election Officers regarding the delivery of EVM machines and how to maintain them after counting of votes. In this it has been clarified that for a fair, fearless, transparent and reliable election process, how should the EVM machines be arranged up to the District Election Officers, Returning Officers and polling centres, counting places and strong-room.
Secretary State Election Commission Shri Singh has said that all the trunks of EVMs allotted for election by the Returning Officers will have to be maintained in the selected temporary EVM strong-room in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties in the prescribed manner. The EVMs supplied for the purpose of training and public awareness will be maintained by reserving a room separate from the strong room which must be in the same building. The polling centre allotted in RO randomization and the strong room will be opened in the prescribed manner in the presence of the candidates and their agents while taking out the ward reserve cum commissioning reserve EVM for commissioning. After commissioning, the EVMs prepared for the polling centre and ward wise reserve will be kept in the temporary strong room as prescribed and the strong room will be sealed in the prescribed manner. EVMs found to be non-working during commissioning and the remaining Commissioning Reserve EVMs with the Returning Officers, which are not being used for voting, will be maintained in a room separate from the strong-room, in which the EVMs allotted for training and public awareness will also be kept. On material distribution day, the strong room will be opened in the presence of the candidates and their agents in the prescribed manner to supply the EVMs to the polling parties belonging to their polling centres and the ward wise reserve EVMs of their respective sectors to the sector/zonal magistrates.
The State Election Commission has classified them into 4 categories for the receipt and maintenance of polled and unpolled EVMs after voting in the next phase. Category-A includes the polled working EVMs, in which the votes of the concerned polling station have been recorded and which are finally closed by the Presiding Officer and sealed in the prescribed manner. In Category-B, polled non-working EVMs, include non-working EVMs in the middle of polling after certain votes are recorded at the respective polling station. In Category-C, unpolled EVMs in which the votes of the respective polling station have not been recorded and have become non-working before the commencement of the poll (during the mock poll). Category-D includes unpolled reserve EVMs, unused reserve EVMs received from zonal/sector magistrates. The polled EVMs of Category-A and Category-B shall be kept in the strong-room in the prescribed manner and sealed in the presence of public representatives and candidates or their agents. Unpolled EVMs of Category-C and Category-D will be kept in a separate room of the same building, where the non-working EVMs generated during commissioning and the remaining Commissioning Reserve EVMs and EVMs for training/public awareness purpose are kept.
Secretary State Election Commission Shri Singh has informed that the maintenance of polled EVMs and all unpolled EVMs will be done separately. All the unpolled EVMs stored in separate rooms are systematically deposited in the trunks and their purpose (non-working EVMs / unused reserve EVMs received from Sector Magistrate / remaining commissioning reserve / training / public awareness etc.) will be pasted on the trunk. The security arrangements of this separate room will have the same provisions, which have been prescribed by the commission for EVM storage. This separate cell will be marked and the public representatives and candidates and their agents will be informed in writing. Immediately after the DMM sealing after the counting of votes, the Returning Officer will hand over all the EVMs available with him to the custody of the Collector and the District Election Officer and take action to store them safely in the EVM store-room of the district.
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