SHILLONG: The Election Commission has come under the scanner for using old EVMs, which resulted in cases of malfunctioning of some machines in parts of Meghalaya.
Consequently, there were instances where the polls opened after the scheduled time in a few polling stations.
Sixteen EVMs were replaced before the start of polling in some areas while 19 were replaced after voting had begun.
It was reported that there were defects in two EVMs at All Saint’s Hall, which falls under Laitumkhrah constituency. As a result, voting was delayed for several hours there.
In another case, there was a major defect found in an EVM at the polling station at Mawlai Nongkwar Secondary School.
A group of journalists witnessed the presiding officer asking the voters to wait in between votes as the machine had to be switched on and off.
Meanwhile, between 12 and 15 voters could not vote at all due to a flaw in how an EVM recorded the time at which the votes were cast at St. Rose School, Umpling Dong Sharum.
According to sources, voting in the west wing section of Dong Sharum closed well before the scheduled time. The sources added that many voters were informed by the presiding officer that the EVMs had been shut down even though they had come to cast their vote before the official close.
The officer admitted that there could be a flaw in the machine whereby the EVMs were recording the incorrect time when each vote was cast. He also expressed his inability to restart the EVMs as all the votes that would have been cast later would be deleted.
However, it was learnt that polling at the same school in the east wing of Dong Sharum continued until 5pm.
When contacted, Umpling Rangbah Shnong, SF Pyngrope, admitted that this problem had occurred in the west wing. “There were around 12 to 15 people who were not able to cast their votes. We cannot do anything since the polling agents of the various candidates have agreed to shut down the EVMs,” Pyngrope said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer, Prashant Naik, admitted that there were more cases of EVMs malfunctioning when compared to past elections.
The voting machines were brought from West Bengal and Assam, unlike in 2008, when new EVMs were used.
According to Naik, the quality of EVMs brought from outside the State may not be up to the mark as compared to those used in previous elections.
However, he said that engineers were camping in Shillong to rectify the problems. Asked about the fate of those votes cast in EVMs that malfunctioned, Naik assured that they were sealed and the votes will be accounted for.