Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: A controversy has emerged over the testing of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Goa after Congress leader Amit Palekar raised concerns over alleged discrepancies in vote counting during a trial. Goa Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjay Goel has dismissed Palekar’s statement as baseless, maintaining that the machines underwent First Level Checking (FLC) in the presence of representatives of all political parties.
Palekar claimed that during the calibration and testing of new EVMs in Goa, 15 votes were cast in favour of three different political parties, but the counting reportedly showed all votes going to a single party, with the total exceeding the number of votes actually polled. He questioned how such a discrepancy could occur and sought clarification from the Election Commission of India.
The Congress leader also questioned whether software could be used to manipulate the results and raised concerns over the reported stoppage of the testing process. He called for transparency and an explanation from the election authorities regarding the alleged incident.
Responding to the allegations, CEO Sanjay Goel termed Palekar’s statement baseless. He said the First Level Checking of the EVMs was carried out in the presence of representatives of all political parties, who signed documents confirming that the machines were functioning properly.
Goel further clarified that no internal testing had been conducted and that no one was permitted to carry out such testing. His response sought to counter the concerns raised by Palekar regarding the process followed during the checking of the machines.
