Introduce online voting for senior citizens, physically-challenged persons: Ex-CEC Krishnamurthy
Bengaluru: Former Chief Election Commissioner of India T S Krishnamurthy on Monday suggested that an online voting facility be provided to senior citizens, physically-challenged persons and members of the uniformed services, to start with.
He also urged political parties to seriously explore the possibility of cutting down the number of physical public meetings and increasingly opt for online campaigning, leveraging the power of digital media.
Speaking to PTI, Krishnamurthy said that during his tenure as the head of the Election Commission of India, the proposal to give online voting options to senior citizens and physically challenged persons was examined and informal consultations were also held with IIT Madras.
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But he said political parties had expressed reservations, citing the possible violation of privacy during voting.
"Though there are countries where internet voting is permitted, we have to carry on with the consent of political parties (in India). There is no point in introducing something over which they have reservations. But my own feeling is that at least initially senior citizens and handicapped people and those in uniformed services could all be given internet voting," he said.
"We should seriously think about it," Krishnamurthy said.
He also said with the strides that India has made on the digital front, political parties need to examine whether they can reduce the number of physical meetings for election campaigning. Right now, he said, India sees "so many" public meetings in the run-up to elections.
"These are the things we need to examine," he said. "But being a country of such a large size, we (India) have to take steps carefully. At least we can reduce (physical) campaigns and all that, so many criss-crossing, people going around. We should seriously consider it (reducing the number of physical campaign rallies) because it's promoting unnecessary hatred, violence and things like that," he added.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
