Want to report on violation during election? Connect to “cVIGIL” and place your complaint

New Delhi, July 4: Living in a democratic country, the ultimate power lies with the citizen of the country, in this perspective, the Election Commission has launched an app called as ‘cVIGIL’ to report any violation that takes place during elections.

 

The ‘cVIGIL’  app which is termed as citizen’s vigil allows the voters to send geo-tagged videos and photos of any violations that take place during elections; this will also include distribution of money or gifts by political parties or even hate speeches being made while campaigning.

The app provides information on all aspects of election management, submitting complaints, finding nearest polling station, searching name in the voter's list, list of candidates contesting elections and their details, affidavits, past elections date etc.

Launching the app on Tuesday, Election Commissioner OP Rawat said that the app will be operational only when the elections are announced. The app is built in such a manner that it is user-friendly and easy to operate. It will be available in all Android smartphones and the beta version of the app will be made available for the public and election staff to download so that they can notify themselves with its features and also try sending dummy data.

Election Commissioner O P Rawat further stated that the practical use of the app during the four-state Assembly polls will also serve as a pilot initiative before it is put to extensive use during the next Lok Sabha General Elections.

The pilot basis was tested during the recently concluded polls in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. The election commission has now decided to extend the service during the upcoming assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram.

The Election Commissioner said that the app will "hide the complainant's phone number and identity so as to encourage information against high and mighty without any risk of subsequent possible backlash." Those who do not hide their identity will also get a response from the EC on the action taken after their complaint.

The election commission is bringing out this tool so that people are free to talk and address the mis-happenings. There have been instances when vested interests have misled surveillance teams and directed them to a place away from the scene of poll code violation. Addressing this will enable the surveillance team to visit the place where the poll code is being violated.

With this, the Election Commission has taken a step towards addressing the issues cited during the elections. There have been many instances where the voting has been hampered. The app is expected to fill these gaps and create a fast-track complaint reception and redressal system.