New Delhi: The Election Commission has revised the protocol for handling and storage of symbol loading units (SLU), following the directions of the Supreme Court, which had ordered that the machines should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs for at least 45 days after the declaration of poll results.
An electronic voting machine (EVM) has three components -- the ballot unit, the control unit and the voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT). An SLU is used to upload the name and symbol of the candidates contesting in a particular seat on VVPAT or paper trail machines.
The poll panel, in a statement on Wednesday, said all state chief electoral officers have been directed to create the necessary infrastructure and provisions to implement the new protocols for handling and storage of the SLUs.
The commission said: “As mandated by the Supreme Court, the revised protocols are applicable in all cases of completion of the symbol loading process in the VVPATs undertaken on or after May 1, 2024.”
Before the apex court order, the SLUs were handed over to local poll officials. The top court had on Friday last issued directions to seal and store symbol loading units and also paved the way for verification of microcontrollers embedded in the EVMs at the request of the candidates who have been declared second and third in the elections.
So far, only the EVMs and VVPAT slips were stored for 45 days after the election results were announced. In the 45 days following the declaration of an election result, people could file an election petition in the concerned high court challenging the election. The EVM and VVPAT slips could be called by the court while hearing the plea.
Before the apex court order, the SLUs were handed over to local poll officials by the engineers of Bharat Electronics Limited or Electronics Corporation of India Limited. A day after the poll, the SLUs were returned to the engineers of the two public sector units that manufacture the ballot unit, the control unit and the VVPAT along with the SLUs.
In the marathon seven-phase elections, 102 constituencies went to poll during the first phase on April 19, while voting for 89 seats in the second phase was held on April 26. The third phase of polling is scheduled for May 7. The votes will be counted on June 4.
