EC launches app to report poll code violation

The Election Commission on Tuesday launched a new mobile app, cVigil, for citizens to report any violation of the model code of conduct during elections.

The app will be made available for people of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan when the four states will go to polls later this year.

Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat, along with Election Commissioners Sunil Arora and Ashok Lavasa, launched the app during the inaugural session of the National Consultations on Accessible Elections in New Delhi.

The “cVIGIL” app will allow anyone in any poll-bound state to report violations of model code of conduct that comes into effect from the date of announcement of elections and continues to be in force till a day after the polls.

Any citizen will be able to use the app to immediately report incidents of misconduct within minutes of having witnessed them and without having to rush to the office of the returning officer to lodge a complaint.

The EC stated that the vigilant citizen would have to click a picture or record a video of duration up to two minutes of the violations of the model code. The photo or video is to be uploaded on the app. The automated location mapping will be done by the app using the Geographic Information System.

After its successful submission through the app, the vigilant citizen would receive a unique ID to track and receive the follow-up updates on her or his mobile. A citizen could report many incidents in this manner and would get a unique id for each report for follow up updates. The identity of the complainant would be kept confidential, the EC added.