Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar reiterated on October 15 that there is no evidence of tampering with EVMs or their batteries. He also suggested that exit poll agencies should reflect on their sample sizes to prevent misleading expectations.
He stated that in recent elections, exit poll results have often caused unrealistic expectations. He called on those involved to take steps toward better self-regulation.
“The gap between expectation and reality can lead to frustration,” he said, criticising some TV channels for running incorrect trends in an alleged bid to match the findings of their exit polls.
In response to a question from Organiser’s Nishant Kumar Azad about the misuse of AI and Deepfakes in elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar acknowledged that these technologies are increasingly disrupting elections worldwide. He detailed the strategies the Election Commission has implemented to tackle these issues, such as setting up control rooms and forming social media teams in all districts. These teams work alongside police to continuously monitor for fake content and take corrective actions against it. Rajiv Kumar pointed out that while some individuals are creating misleading narratives, the Commission believes that the public will eventually recognise the truth. He emphasised that the situation has not yet crossed a critical threshold, but warned that if it does, those responsible will be held accountable.
Chief Election Commissioner @rajivkumarec responds to my question on ‘misuse of #AI & #Deepfakes in elections and what's the EC's Strategy to deal with it?’
#MaharashtraElection2024#JharkhandElection2024 @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/9fk7eaZnq2
— Nishant Azad/निशांत आज़ाद🇮🇳 (@azad_nishant) October 15, 2024
Addressing the media after announcing the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections, CEC Kumar responded to a question about the difference between the results of the Haryana Assembly elections and the sharply contrasting projections from exit polls. He also ruled out any possibility of EVM tampering and promised to respond to all 20 candidates who filed complaints regarding voting machine malfunctions in the recent Assembly polls. “The answers will include details of when the battery was commissioned and where it was used,” he said.
Expressing displeasure over rumours about EVMs, he noted that sometimes it is claimed that pagers can be tampered with, suggesting that EVMs could also be tinkered with. He mentioned that it is also said that votes do not go to the candidate whose button is pressed. In response to doubts raised by some Haryana Congress candidates who lost the election, the CEC explained that the batteries are loaded into EVMs at the time of commissioning, and even candidates’ agents are made to sign on the seal.
Some Congress candidates complained on the counting day, October 8, that certain EVMs showed a charge of 99 per cent despite being used for voting. In response, the CEC stated, “EVMs have a single-use battery that lasts for five years. After commissioning, the batteries are checked in mock polls, and these mock polls are also conducted at polling stations, where the number of candidates varies at different seats.”
