Congress opposes remote voting for migrant workers, calls for restoring trust in electoral system

Trust in the electoral system is paramount for democracy to function, Jairam Ramesh said

Congress on Thursday opposed the Election Commission's proposal for a remote voting system for migrant workers.

It said the EC should first address the Opposition's apprehension about the misuse of EVMs before extending its application which "would seriously undermine trust" in the electoral system.

Pointing to alleged irregularities in voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Now imagine if these suspicious patterns can be extended via a multi-constituency voting machine to other locations. This would seriously undermine trust in the system."

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"We call on the Election Commission to restore trust in the electoral system with transparency and via honest engagement with the Opposition's concerns," he said in a statement.

Ramesh said, "Trust in the electoral system is paramount for democracy to function. The German Federal Constitutional Court struck down Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Germany in 2009 because the opacity of the machine cannot give a voter the confidence that his or her vote is being correctly recorded.

"In spite of their widespread use, EVMs have aroused much controversy in India. Unfortunately, fears of their misuse have not been systematically addressed. Voters and parties must have confidence in the electoral system. However, this trust has been repeatedly violated in recent years on account of pressures being put on the Election Commission of India by the Modi government," he said.