Video of removing vvPAT slips is misattributed as EVM fraud behind BJP’s victory in Gujarat
Claim
Landslide Victory In Gujarat.
Scene From One Of The Strong Rooms In That State
Bhavnagar Constituency.
Rating
Explanation
The BJP sets a new victory record in the Gujarat assembly last week by winning 156 out of 182 seats. Meanwhile, a video clip is shared widely on social media referring to a context that something illegal is happening with the EVM machines in the Bhavnagar constituency. This video claiming to be a scene from one of the string rooms is shared mentioning the landslide victory in Gujarat. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here, here, here and here.
What is the truth?
When watching the video carefully, we could not find any fraud happening in the video. One of the comments in the viral posts reads that it is a video after the counting was done and the result declared.
It is mentioned in the ‘Election Commission of India’ website the instructions on the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) with voter verifiable Paper Audit Trail (vvPAT) system and details about the steps for removal of vvPAT slips from WPATs after completion of Counting of Votes.
The video can be seen following the instructions mentioned in the document.
- The paper slips are removed from the vvPAT box.
- Those paper slips are kept in a paper envelope made of thick black paper.
- Slips taken out from each box are to be kept separately.
- Columns to fill the details on the envelope can be seen on the black coloured envelope as mentioned in the official instructions document.
A sample video on transferring the past slips to the black envelope can be seen in the Youtube video published by ‘Kerala School ICT Help’ with the title ‘HOW TO SEAL VVPAT MOCK POLL SLIPS | DEMONSTRATION VIDEO’.
Conclusion
A video of the usual process of removing and transferring paper slips from the vvPAT machine to a black envelope is misattributed as EVM fraud behind BJP’s victory in Gujarat.
