EVMs tamper-proof, problem lies with VVPATs, says former EC chief
New Delhi : It is not the electronic voting machines (EVMs), but the technical glitches reported in the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) that have set off concerns about the technology, former chief election commissioner (CEC) Navin Chawla said on Saturday.
EVMs equipped with VVPATs were used in last year’s elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, allowing voters to verify that their vote had indeed gone to the candidate of their choice. VVPATs were aimed at ensuring transparency in the voting process.
On Thursday, as many as 17 opposition parties revived their demand for reverting to paper ballots in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Leaders of these parties familiar with the development said EVMs, even if they come equipped with the VVPATs, would not be acceptable and they will meet the Election Commission over the next week to push their demand.
Chawla claimed that the efficiency of the EVMs is not in doubt.
“I believe I speak for all of the former chief election commissioners when I say that the electronic voting machine by itself is tamper-proof. The EVMs were used over the years in several elections before they were comprehensively used during the 2004 general elections. They have been used subsequently in 2009 and 2014 general elections as well,” he said.
Referring to the glitches that were reported when the VVPATs were pressed into service during the recent bypolls in Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana and Maharashtra’s Bhandra-Gondiya, Chawla said: “The problem I believe lies with the VVPATs. The use of VVPATs has only recently started; after being selectively used in some elections on a trial basis. The error rate of VVPATs reported is about 5% and may be higher.”
He went on to add: “I can’t say whether the error is on account of the staff not being trained adequately or because of intrinsic problems; but it is these errors that are creating doubts in political parties.”
The Election Commission, on its part, has attributed the glitches to direct light falling on the sensors, and technical issues set off by humidity that in turn affected the thermal paper used in the VVPAT machines.
The former CEC also suggested that tallying of votes recorded in the VVPTAs and EVMs should be done on a larger scale. “Also, at the moment the results are tallied only in one polling station in each constituency. This should be increased to about 5-10% of the total constituencies as this will assuage the doubts of political parties,” he said.
The election commission has reiterated that it will continue to use EVMs along with the VVPATs in all forthcoming elections. The commission has also urged political parties to refrain from casting aspersions on the efficacy and security of these machines, pointing out that these are not only programmed to prevent manipulation or tampering, but are also made to go through stringent checks before polling.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
