Kejriwal demands EC to postpone MCD polls by two months

New Delhi : In the wake of recent drubbing in Delhi by-polls, AAP chief Arvidn Kejriwal has demanded to postpone the MCD polls by two months.  

Kejriwal met the Delhi State Election Commissioner and alleged that "redundant" pre-2006 electronic voting machines (EVMs) that were junked and can be hacked even by a child are going to be used in the April 23 municipal polls.

The SEC rejected the proposal saying there was no provision to postpone the elections. Kejriwal insisted, under the DMC (Delhi Municipal Corporation) Act, the Centre has the power to extend the tenure of the civic bodies by one year. VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home.

 The voters see Voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slip for seven seconds, which would be an acknowledgement receipt for the party they voted for in the election. Kejriwal, who has been raising the issue of alleged EVM manipulation since the Punjab poll verdict where the AAP finished a distant second, also demanded that the AAP be allowed to get the machines "technically verified by experts" during mock trials before the polls.