Reiterating that electronic voting machines are absolutely foolproof and tamperproof, Chief Electoral Officer I V Subba Rao stated that the by-elections to 12 assembly seats in the Telangana region have dispelled the misconceptions and myths over EVMs.
Talking to media persons at the secretariat on Saturday after the completion of electoral process in the Telangana region, he said, "This is the first time since the introduction of EVMs that both ballot papers and EVMs were used in an election."
He said the political parties should understand that the elections were conducted in a free and fair manner without giving room for any complaints.
He thanked the voters and political parties for extending their cooperation in the peaceful and smooth conduct of the Telangana by-elections. The CEO also thanked the polling officials for working round-the-clock in the conduct of elections in a free and fair manner.
He also extended his thanks to the counting staff for working more than 20 hours in some constituencies for speedy announcement of by-election results.
He reiterated that he would work for more transparency in the conduct of elections and take steps for plugging malpractices.