cVIGIL app

In news: cVIGIL Citizen Mobile App of the Election Commission, developed to fast-track receiving and addressing complaints about violations of model code of conduct (MCC) appears to be a hit with the voters in Kerala’s election

What is cVIGIL?

•  cVIGIL is an innovative mobile application for citizens to report Model Code of Conduct and Expenditure violations during the elections. 
• ‘cVIGIL’ stands for Vigilant Citizen and emphasizes the proactive and responsible role citizens can play in the conduct of free and fair elections.

Key features 

• It is user-friendly and easy to operate the android application, which can be used for reporting violations from the date of notifications for bye-election/ assembly/ parliamentary elections. 
• Digital evidence: The uniqueness of the app is that it only allows Live Photo/ video with auto location capture from within the app to ensure digital evidence for flying squads to act upon in a time-bound manner.
• The app could be installed and used on any Android smartphone equipped with a camera, good internet connection, and GPS access. 
• Reporting misconducts: By using this app, citizens can immediately report on incidents of political misconduct within minutes of having witnessed them and without having to rush to the office of the returning officer. 
• Connectivity: cVIGIL connects vigilant citizens with the District Control Room, Returning Officer, and Field Unit (Flying Squads) / Static Surveillance Teams, thereby, creating a rapid and accurate reporting, action and monitoring system.

How does it work?

The complainer is required to click a picture or a 2-minute video of the activity violating MCC and describe it shortly, before registering the complaint. GIS information captured with the complaint automatically flags it to the concerned District Control Room, permitting flying squads to be routed to the spot within a few minutes.

Conditions to use the app

• cVIGIL application will be usable only within geographical boundary of States where elections are being held.
• The cVIGIL user will get 5 minutes to report an incidence after having clicked a picture or a video. 
• The app will not allow uploading of the pre-recorded images/ videos, neither would it allow users to save photos/videos clicked from this app into the phone gallery directly.
• To prevent misuse of the system and to avoid repetitive complaints from the same spot, the system forces time delay of 5 minutes between successive complaints by the same person.
• District Controller has the option of dropping duplicate, frivolous and unrelated cases even before the cases are assigned to the field unit.
• The cVIGIL application must be used for lodging MCC violation related cases only. 
• District Controller could drop a cVIGIL complaint without any further recourse, in case personal grievances are registered through cVIGIL app or the digital attachment of a cVIGIL complaint is found to be unrelated to an MCC violation.