NEW DELHI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- India's independent Election Commission Thursday rejected allegations of rigging of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the recent round of assembly polls in five states, saying the machines "aren't tamperable".
"Given effective technical and administrative safeguards, EVMs aren't tamperable and integrity of the electoral process is preserved. However, if any specific allegation with material facts is presented, it will be looked into with all seriousness on administrative sides," it said.
The Commission's statement came in the wake of two regional parties -- the anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party of Delhi and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh approaching it alleging that the EVM machines were rigged in the recent assembly polls in at least two states.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal had Wednesday raised questions about the EVMs used in the assembly polls in the northern state of Punjab.
"EVMs have been banned by some nations abroad because they can be tampered with. To conduct free and fair polls in India, they should be discontinued. Our Supreme Court had said in the past that it is possible to tamper with EVMs. I'm not saying this, the Supreme Court said this," Kejriwal said.
And after India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party swept the polls in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the dismal performance of her own Bahujan Samaj Party, its woman leader Mayawati had called for a switch to ballot papers, alleging that EVMs make rigging easy.
