Several posts (here, here, & here), accompanied by a video of a group of people demonstrating Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs), are being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that the video shows a live demonstration conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat (CEO) to illustrate the malfunctioning of EVMs. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat conducted a live demonstration illustrating the malfunctioning of EVMs.
Fact: There are no reports indicating that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat has conducted a live demonstration illustrating the malfunctioning of EVMs. Moreover, the current CEO of Gujarat is P. Bharathi, IAS. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the accuracy of the viral claim, we conducted a keyword search on the internet. However, we did not find any reports indicating that the Gujarat CEO has conducted a live demonstration illustrating the malfunctioning of EVMs. If such a demonstration was indeed conducted by the CEO of Gujarat, it would likely have been reported by several media outlets.
Furthermore, we checked the website of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Gujarat and found that the current CEO of Gujarat is P. Bharathi, IAS. But the person demonstrating in the video is a man.
When we observe the viral video, we notice an organization named ‘EVM Hatao Morcha’ on the banner. Several organizations (here, here, here) are fighting against the usage of EVMs in elections and are demanding the use of the ballot paper system instead. These organizations conduct demonstrations to showcase that EVMs can be made to malfunction. A few other demonstrations by such organizations can be seen here, here, and here.
The individual featured in the viral video demonstrating the malfunctioning of the EVM can also be seen in another demonstration organized by an organization called the ‘EVM Hatao, Desh Bachao Movement,’ held in February 2024 in Goa. This demonstration video (archive link) was uploaded to the YouTube channel named ‘Prime Media Goa’ on 02 February 2024. After comparing the viral video with this video, it is evident that both individuals giving the EVM demonstration are the same.
When similar videos claiming that EVMs can be hacked went viral on social media, the Election Commission of India refuted such claims through a post on its official X (Twitter) account. The post stated that the EVM shown in the video is not an ECI EVM. Similarly, the CEO of Gujarat also refuted such claims on X (Twitter).
To sum up, the CEO of Gujarat did not give any demonstration to show EVM malfunctions; the viral video shows a demonstration by an organization fighting against the usage of EVMs in the elections.
