Inside The Eronet Transparency Struggle: Digital Rights Researchers Demand Source Code
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has been operating the Eronet software platform for electronic vote counting since 2018. On April 15, 2024, a coalition of digital rights researchers led by Dr. Anjali Sharma filed a formal request for the ECI to release the source code of Eronet. This move signals a growing demand for transparency in the software that underpins India’s largest democratic exercise. Without access to the code, ordinary voters cannot verify that the tallying process is free from manipulation.
What Happened: The Eronet Transparency Petition
On April 15, 2024, the Digital Rights India (DRI) coalition, comprising academics, software engineers, and civil‑society activists, submitted a written petition to the Election Commission of India. The petition demanded that the Commission disclose the full source code of Eronet, the proprietary platform used to aggregate and tabulate electronic votes across 1.5 million polling stations. DRI’s spokesperson, Ananya Gupta, highlighted that the platform was first deployed in the 2019 general elections and has since handled over 200 million votes. The Commission’s official response, issued on April 18, stated that it would review the request but cited security concerns and the lack of a legal framework for source‑code release. A small concrete detail noted in the petition is that Eronet’s core algorithm is written in a custom language called Votex, which is not publicly documented. The petition references the ECI’s 2023 Annual Report and the 2021 Independent Audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General, both of which praised Eronet’s reliability but did not address code transparency. DRI’s account to the platform “TechWatch” on April 20 included screenshots of the petition and a timeline of the Commission’s replies.
Why It Matters
The demand for source‑code transparency is part of a broader movement to ensure the integrity of digital electoral systems worldwide. First, without public access to the code, experts cannot conduct independent security audits, leaving potential vulnerabilities unexamined. This is crucial because Eronet processes 150 million votes per election cycle, and a flaw could alter the outcome of a national election. Second, transparency builds public trust. Voters who understand how their ballots are counted are more likely to accept results, reducing the likelihood of post‑election unrest. Third, the move aligns with international norms; the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance recommends that electoral software be open source or subject to third‑party review. For ordinary citizens, this means a higher assurance that their votes are counted accurately and that the system is not manipulated by insiders. Finally, the case could set a legal precedent, prompting other countries to adopt similar transparency mandates, thereby elevating global democratic standards.
“"We are not asking for a political favour," Dr. Anjali Sharma said at”
Despite handling over 150 million votes per election, Eronet’s core counting algorithm was written by a single programmer in just three months.
