Northeast Desk, 25th April: The Gangtok District Election Office carried out the unsealing of a warehouse containing reserved Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) on April 24. The unsealing procedure, conducted at the District Administration Centre, was observed by representatives from various political parties. Notable officials present included Mr. Rohan Agawane, Additional District Collector, Mr. Milan Rai, Additional District Collector (HQ), Mr. Karma Wangyal Bhutia, Deputy Director Election Department, and Ms. Dhanmaya Rasaily, Under Secretary Election Department.
The unsealed EVMs and VVPATs were divided into two categories: Reserved and Rejected (damaged) EVMs. Reserved EVMs were those that were not utilized during the 2024 General Elections in Gangtok district, while rejected EVMs were those that malfunctioned during the First Level Checking and Commissioning process.
Subsequently, the machines will undergo a tallying process, following which a comprehensive report on each reserved and rejected EVM will be forwarded to the respective political parties to ensure the transparency and integrity of the electoral process. Once the tallying process was completed, the machines were resealed in the presence of party representatives.
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