The entire University of Delhi is heaving a sigh of relief after the DUSU elections 2017. But now, what about the faulty voting machines?
Elections in colleges and universities are valued by every student. The candidates for the various posts have to argue for the need of more advanced and automated voting systems. However, the design, construction, implementation, effectiveness, and security of electronic voting systems have proved to be problematic. The results of the DUSU polls were released last Wednesday. The outflow of freebies, goodies and movie tickets came to a fruitful end. But insiders have revealed that the voting machines were faulty in a few colleges. So, do we assume that the results were biased? First came the suspicions of vote flipping. And now, the stories and conspiracy theories have begun.
Sources have informed us that there have been reports of voters pressing one candidate’s name, only to have the opponent’s name light up instead. It is unnerving for the students. Have our votes got no value? After all the tohubohu in the university in the former half of the year, now we get to hear of alleged ‘rigging’ of machines. The colleges which got the faulty machines are demanding for another round of elections due to tampering of the ballot boxes. There is a popular demand to scrap the machines. The Chancellor has requested for a probe to look into this matter and the role of the officers involved in the entire process. It said that the machines were tested before the elections and recalibrated each day before voting began.
But the upheaval of students regarding justice in this issue has lead to a settlement: Now the winning party will be decided by a popular support rally, which is to be scheduled by the end of this month in DU’s North Campus. The working mechanism of this rally is described as follows: you have to register yourself under a party as their supporter, and then you must to join their rally walk from the prescribed time. The party with the highest number of supporters wins.
Statistics say more students came out to vote in DU this year as compared to last year. In 32 of the 41-morning colleges, the voter turnout stood at 44% — a sizeable jump, when the overall voter turnout last year was 36.9%. But in a university like ours, we expect a higher number of voters. And if you could not vote this year, now you have another chance to have a say in the elections of your very own university. Also, increasing support implies another round of incentives to enjoy! Goodies are on their way, let’s join a rally.
**Disclaimer: Bazinga is our weekly column of almost believable fake news. It is a humorous, light hearted column that should only be appreciated and not accepted.
Feature Image Credits: Times of India
Radhika Boruah