Anil Kawade, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Election Authority, on Thursday emphasised the need to introduce Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in cooperative elections to enhance transparency, efficiency and credibility in the process.
Speaking at a seminar organised by the Central Cooperative Election Authority at Vigyan Bhavan, Kawade said Maharashtra conducts elections for nearly one lakh cooperative societies, making it one of the largest cooperative election networks in the country.
He said the authority has already explored the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and conducted demonstrations in coordination with concerned agencies. However, the Election Commission of India did not grant permission for their formal use in cooperative elections.
Kawade said several measures have already been introduced to improve transparency in the election process. These include digital voter lists, monitoring of election expenditure, implementation of a model code of conduct on the lines of the Election Commission, and real-time tracking of election processes through online tools such as Google Sheets.
With cooperative memberships running into lakhs, he said the adoption of EVMs would further strengthen transparency and integrity in cooperative elections.
