The Hindu 19.02.2010
EVMs to be used in urban local body polls
Staff Reporter
TIRUNELVELI: While electronic voting machines will replace ballot papers in the elections to be held for vacancies in urban local bodies, ballot papers will continue to be in use in the rural civic bodies, State Election Commissioner D. Chandrasekaran has said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Chandrasekaran said elections for the 652 vacancies in rural local bodies and 18 vacancies in urban civic bodies would be held in the near future. Though it had been decided to use EVMs in the elections for vacancies in urban local bodies, ballot papers would be used in rural areas.
As there were only 7,395 EVMs available for this purpose and the demand standing at 1.25 lakh, the SEC had forwarded a proposal to the government for Rs.216 crore to the Government for the procurement of EVMs.
Election expenditure
He informed that 3,907 candidates, who had failed to submit their election expenditure to the SEC would not be allowed to contest elections for the next three years. “We’ve proposed to increase this ban period from three years to six years,” he noted.
