DAW 10th December 2025, Mains Answer Writting 2026

DAW 10th December 2025, Mains Answer Writting 2026

Question

In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India? (150 Words, 10 Marks). 

Model Answer

Approach: 

Introduction:  

  • State recent EVM credibility concerns; highlight ECI’s role in ensuring trust, transparency, and electoral integrity. 

Body: 

  • Outline challenges: technical issues, transparency gaps, trust deficit, legal/institutional scrutiny. 

  • Mention ECI and Supreme Court responses defending EVM reliability. 

  • Suggest key measures: stronger VVPAT protocols, open-source audit, RLAs, public awareness, operational transparency, and enhanced security. 

Conclusion: 

  • Reaffirm need to balance technology with transparency; emphasize continuous improvement to protect electoral integrity and democratic credibility. 

 Introduction: 

  • Recent controversies over the credibility of EVMs have renewed concerns about the trustworthiness and transparency of India’s electoral process. As the guardian of free and fair elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) faces the pressing task of strengthening electoral integrity, enhancing technological accountability, and restoring public confidence in the democratic system. 

 Body: The recurring controversy over EVM integrity has created multidimensional challenges for the Election Commission of India (ECI): 

  • Technical Challenges: 

  • Ensuring tamper-proof security amidst repeated claims of hacking (2009, 2019, 2020). 

  • Addressing malfunctioning incidents, such as those during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which led to re-polling and raised doubts on machine reliability. 

  • For example, In Alappuzha (Kerala), malfunctioning EVMs at a panchayat polling station led officials to invalidate voting and order repolling the next day due to technical issues. 

  • RTIobtained documents showed states flagged high EVM and VVPAT failure rates before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with some regions reporting control unit or paper trail unit rejections well above typical thresholds 

  • Transparency and Auditability: 

  • Effective use of VVPATs to enhance verifiability, though concerns remain about slip storage and limited VVPAT counts (5 per assembly segment). 

  • Expanding independent audits to strengthen post-election validation and accountability. 

  • The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that only 5 VVPAT slips per assembly segment are counted to verify EVM results, rejecting a petition for 100 % verification — a key transparency demand by critics 

  • Perception and Public Trust: 

  • Tackling the persistent trust deficit created by political allegations after electoral losses. 

  • Countering misinformation and fake news, despite the ECI's social media monitoring cell and public awareness efforts. 

  • Legal and Institutional Challenges: 

  • Managing continuous judicial scrutiny, including SC directives on VVPAT counting. 

  • Addressing concerns regarding voter verifiability, source-code opacity, and security vulnerabilities that critics argue limit transparency and independent evaluation. 

 Response from Election Commission of India and Supreme Court: 

  • Election Commission's Response: The Election Commission has consistently defended the reliability of EVMs citing studies by technical experts to assert that the machines cannot be hacked or tampered with.   

  • Supreme Court Response: SC held that a number of technical safeguards and administrative protocols with stringent checks have been put in place to prevent EVM tampering and rejected the plea for a return to ballot papers as unsound. 

 Measures to Strengthen Technological Integrity and Electoral Transparency: 

  • Enhance VVPAT Reliability: Introduce a more robust VVPAT verification protocol, enabling voters to confirm the printed slip and allowing vote cancellation in case of discrepancies. 

  • Open-Source Code Review: Increase transparency by permitting independent expert audits and limited public access to EVM source code, ensuring wider scrutiny of security architecture. 

  • Risk-Limiting Audits (RLAs): Conduct statistically sound audits that match electronic tallies with VVPAT slips, enabling early detection of anomalies and reinforcing vote integrity. 

  • Strengthen Public Awareness: Expand voter education on EVM functionalities, safeguards, and counting procedures to build informed public trust and counter misinformation. 

  • Greater Operational Transparency: Ensure end-to-end transparency in storage, transportation, randomisation, and deployment of EVMs through open demonstrations and observer-led verification. 

  • Enhanced Security Measures: Fortify physical and digital security through tamper-evident seals, GPS tracking, strong room surveillance, and stringent handling protocols to prevent unauthorised access. 

 Conclusion: 

  • To sustain trust in India’s electoral process, the ECI must continue strengthening transparency, security, and public confidence in EVMs through technical upgrades, rigorous audits, and wider voter awareness. With safeguards such as M3 EVMs, VVPAT verification, and strict procedural checks, India has built a resilient voting system, but continued openness and independent scrutiny remain essential. Ensuring the credibility of elections is vital to preserving the integrity of India’s democratic and constitutional framework.