The Election Commission (EC) has told the Kerala High Court that they have found 38,586 double votes in the voters’ list ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections. The EC’s response comes after Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala filed a petition in the HC.
Double votes have been a real problem before the Kerala election. EC has informed the HC that the names of the double voters will be marked separately in the voters’ list and these voters will be allowed to leave their house only after indelible ink dries up.
While the EC said they found 38,586 double votes, the opposition parties had pointed out that there were 3,16,671 double votes. The EC said that many people are having the same name and address but are not bogus voters. The Commission said that it not possible to make changes to the voters’ list as the code of conduct is in force. The HC has said it will announce a verdict on Chennithala’s petition.
The opposition leader has submitted a report to Kerala HC. He suggested that booth level officers (BLOs) should visit the houses of the voters who have double votes and let them know where they should cast their vote. Chennithala also suggested that written consent should be collected. Further, the presiding officer should be informed.
“A photo should be taken when the voter appears to cast their vote and must be uploaded on the server. After voting, the photos should be inspected and single votes should be ensured. All these processes can be done quickly and effectively with the use of technology,” he said in his report to the High Court.
