Nearly 6,600 Complaints Per Day: Election Commission's cVIGIL App Empowers Citizens to Flag Poll Code Violations

Allowing every citizen to be its eyes and ears, the Election Commission of India has launched the cVIGIL mobile app. In the past almost two weeks since the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, the poll body has received reports of over 79,000 violations with about 99% cases disposed of.

In a statement on Friday, the ECI said that more than 58,500 complaints (73%) received are against illegal hoardings and banners.

cVIGIL app

“More than 1.400 complaints received pertain to money, gifts and liquor distribution. Close to 3% of the complaints (24,54) pertain to defacement of property. Out of the 535 complaints received for display of firearms and intimidation, 529 have already been resolved. Also, 1,000 complaints reported were for campaigning beyond the prohibited period including use of speakers beyond permitted time,” the ECI said.

cVIGIL app

The poll body said that over 99% of complaints were resolved. Also, close to 89% of these complaints were resolved within 100 minutes.

Gaining Popularity

The app was launched in July 2018 – ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The complaints received in the past fortnight are the highest so far. As per the ECI, the app is getting popular with every election as the number of complaints is increasing after every poll.

In December, News18 reported that the ECI received nearly 78,000 complaints during the 11 assembly elections held during the one-year period between November 2022 and 2023. Of the 78,000 complaints, more than half – 48,300 – were from the five states that went for polls in November 2023: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Telangana. These 48,300 complaints were received between October 9 and November 30.

How The App Works

The users, anyone from the public, can capture audio, photos, or videos in real-time, and a “100-minute” countdown for time-bound response to complaints is ensured.

As per the poll body, the drill is that as soon as a complaint is filed, within five minutes the district election officer assigns it to a field unit for verification. In the next 15 minutes, the team arrives at the site. In the next 30 minutes, it has to execute an action and submit a report. Another 50 minutes are kept for the returning officer to close the complaint.

The app automatically enables a geotagging feature as soon as 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 citizens could be used as evidence in the court of law. Citizens can also report complaints anonymously,” the ECI said.