Context

The cVIGIL app of Election Commission of India (ECI) received  over 99% complaints and close to 89% of these complaints have been resolved within 100 minutes. 

cVIGIL App Revolutionizes Electoral Oversight

• More than 73% of the total complaints received are against illegal hoardings and banners and close to 3% of the complaints 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. 

About cVIGIL Citizen App

• Aim: To enable citizens to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections. 

• Features of EC’s cVigil App

  • Allows users to report violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
  • Provides a platform for citizens to participate in the electoral process
  • Uses GPS to track the location of the violation
  • Allows users to capture the live incidents only
  • Tracks the progress of the complaint
  • Feature to report the case of MCC violation anonymously

• Significance of EC’s cVigil App

  • It is easy to use, authentic and maintains user secrecy. 
    • User-Friendly: To report a violation, users simply need to open the app, select the type of violation, and provide details of the incident, including location, time, and photographs or videos. 
      • Users capture audios, photos or videos in real-time, and a “100-minute” countdown for time-bound response to complaints is ensured. 
    • Increase of Participation: It has also been credited with helping to increase the number of MCC violations reported during elections.
    • Technology in Politics: The app is one amongst the armory of Apps built by the Commission to leverage technology and facilitate voters and political parties.
    • A Step Towards Transparency: 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.