New Delhi, Apr 17: Amid a raging debate on state funding of elections, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi today said it should be considered only after bringing in total internal democracy and financial transparency in political parties.
 The CEC also did not see online voting becoming a reality in the near future, saying there were concerns of safety and integrity of free and fair voting.
 "State funding of elections should be considered only when there is total internal democracy within political parties and they have financial transparency," Quraishi said at a session on "Governance:
 The Key to a Developed India" here. The CEC said, "Voting online, technologically is child's play for us. We are an IT superpower. Let's accept that. But we do not see that happening in the near future."
 "Your safety and your integrity is our concern. Someone points a gun at you and asks you to vote for you. We hope that your laptop cannot protect you from that. Secondly, we don't even trust you.
 Somebody comes and gives you Rs 5,000 and asks you to vote for him. Till we are able to control that, that (online voting) cannot happen," he said.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST