The Election Commission of India (ECI) has said that since the announcement of the General Elections to the 18th Lok Sabha, it has received 79,000 complaints in its cVIGIL app of which 99% have been resolved within 100 minutes, it said.
EC informed that more than 58,500 complaints or 73% of the total complaints received were against illegal hoardings and banners. More than 1400 complaints received pertained to money, gifts and liquor distribution and close to 3% of the complaints (2454) pertain to defacement of property. Out of the 535 complaints received for display of firearms and intimidation, 529 have already been resolved. 1000 complaints reported were for campaigning beyond the prohibited period including use of speakers beyond permitted time.
Read more: What is cVIGIL?
cVIGIL is an app that voters can use to report model code of conduct violations and distribution of any kind of inducements to voters. cVIGI is user-friendly and easy to operate application, which connects vigilant citizens with the District Control Room, Returning Officer and Flying Squads Teams. By using this app, the citizens can immediately report on incidents of political misconduct within minutes and without having to rush to the office of the returning officer. As soon as the complaint is sent on the cVIGIL app, the complainant will receive a unique ID through which the person will be able to track the complaint on their mobile.
A trinity of factors working simultaneously makes cVIGIL a success. Users capture audios, photos or videos in real-time, and a “100-minute” countdown for time-bound response to complaints is ensured. The app automatically enables a geo-tagging feature as soon as the user switches on their camera in the cVIGIL to report a violation. This means that flying squads could know the precise location of a reported violation, and the image captured by citizens could be used as evidence in the court of law. Citizens can also report complaints anonymously.
The app is one amongst the armoury of Apps built by the Commission to leverage technology and facilitate voters and political parties.
