By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The United Democratic Party (UDP) is contemplating to convene a meeting of various political parties to voice opposition against the decision of the Election Commission to use old Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the upcoming 2013 Assembly elections in the State.
UDP sources informed that the party leadership was caught by surprise after learning that the EC wanted to use the old EVMs whose credibility has been questioned from time to time.
“We were expecting that the EC would use the upgraded version of EVMs which is more effective and dependable. But the decision to use the old EVMs is posing a serious question on the intention of the EC,” party sources said here on Friday.
According to the sources, the UDP would urge the EC to use the new upgraded version of the EVMs or go back to the old secret ballot system in the upcoming election.
“We would also officially submit a representation to the EC after taking other political parties into confidence,” the sources added.
Earlier, the EC had conducted a mock poll in Sohra to experiment with the new Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system.
Despite conducting the mock poll to test the VVPAT system, the EC had made it clear that the VVPAT will not be used in the Assembly poll in Meghalaya.