Poll process robust, says EC

EC responds to charges levelled by Opposition leaders

- GAURAV VIVEK

The Election Commission on Monday addressed some of the concerns raised by the Opposition parties in the recent past and claimed that the electoral process was both robust and codified. It also added that the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday will begin with the postal ballots first as was the norm. At a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who was accompanied by ECs Gyanesh Kumar and S.S. Sandhu, spoke at length about some of the issues raised by the INDIA bloc leaders during their meeting with the commissioners on Sunday.

Seeking to dispel any doubts about the fairness of the electoral process and in particular the counting process, the CEC dared the Opposition to share the evidence on its allegations. He termed the process "robust" and said it was "codified" in the commission's manuals.

He also described it as "foolproof" as it takes place in the presence of nearly 78 million people. However, he added that "there can be human errors which can happen anywhere".