Over 79,000 violations reported on ECI’s cVIGIL app since March 16

NEW DELHI — The cVIGIL app launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI) received over 79,000 complaints since the announcement of general elections on March 16, the poll panel said on Friday.

cVIGIL is part of ECI’s steps to leverage digital tech to ensure free, fair, and inducement-free elections, which has become an effective tool in the hands of the people to flag election code violations.

According to the ECI, over 99 per cent of the complaints have been resolved, including close to 89 per cent within just 100 minutes.

More than 58,500 complaints (73 per cent) received were against illegal hoardings and banners, while over 1,400 complaints pertained to money, gifts, and liquor distribution.

Close to 3 per cent of the complaints (2,454) pertained to defacement of property. Out of the 535 complaints received for display of firearms and intimidation, 529 have already been resolved.

As many as 1,000 complaints were against campaigning beyond the prohibited period, including the use of speakers beyond the permitted time.

The user-friendly app connects vigilant citizens with the district control rooms, returning officers, and flying squad teams.

As soon as a complaint is sent to the app, the complainant receives a unique ID through which he/she can track the complaint on his/her cellphone, the ECI said.

The app automatically enables a geo-tagging feature as soon as the users switch on their cameras in the cVIGIL app to report a violation.

This means that flying squads could know the precise location of a reported violation, and the image captured by the citizens could be used as evidence in the court of law. The citizens can also lodge their complaints anonymously.