IMPHAL, Sept 21 - For the first time in Manipur, Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) will be used in some selected Assembly constituencies in the upcoming Assembly polls scheduled to held before March 18 next year.
Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed that adequate awareness about VVPAT shall be created by the district election machinery to acquaint the electors about its features and usefulness.
Disclosing this, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi told reporters here on Wednesday that that the Commission has directed the State Government that preparation must start in full swing to ensure free, fair, peaceful, transparent and participatory elections and enhance confidence of the electorate to exercise their franchise without any fear, influence, coercion or inducement.
�We have also directed for preventive measures against criminal and anti-social elements�, he added.
Zaidi-led ECI team arrived here on Tuesday on a two-day visit to the State to make a first hand assessment of the preparations by the State Government for the Assembly polls. The team held a series of meetings with the stakeholders including political parties in the State before their departure today.
In their meeting, the political parties requested the ECI for single phase election to prevent dual voting and peaceful polls.
Demanding security coverage by Central armed police force, several political parties complained about the recent rush of largescale recruitments being made in various government departments close to the elections. They alleged it has the potential to impact the fairness of the electoral process and requested that this practice be discouraged. Influence of insurgent organisations was also a cause of concern for the political parties.
