BUGGED OUT, AGAIN: Flaws reported in the Indian Institute of Architects’s e-voting system

UPDATE: IIA Elections Suspended

The Indian Institute of Architects announced on its website that the voting process was suspended due to the glitches in the server. Screenshot of the announcement below:

Earlier News:

With the election of 2023-2025 underway, the Indian Institute of Architect (IIA) has found itself embroiled with a faulty voting system again. Concerns have arisen regarding the integrity and fairness of the voting process. In a mail sent by Ar. Punit Sethi, it appears that after a vote is submitted and confirmed, the ballot reopens, allowing for multiple votes to be cast. It is further raising concerns about the integrity and fairness of the electoral process. ArchitectureLive! has obtained some videos from the members exposing the flaw in the voting system. 

For the previous election, held in 2020, claims were made by several members that the software used for the hybrid system of voting, which gave the members a choice to choose between ballot papers and e-voting, involved a bug which allowed anyone to use a registered IIA member’s account and vote- this hacking process was also explained on a YouTube channel, “Professional FIRST”. 

Members had raised alarms regarding the faulty system previously. This was addressed through an  “unofficial” and “unsigned” document, that continued to undermine confidence in the organization. Some members had asked IIA to conduct the elections through the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). The reasons cited by the IIA about the lack of funds and scarcity of time to appoint NSDL have already been rejected by the protesting members.   

Among the voters who now want IIA to call off the election process immediately, with further legal action against the software designer, appointing an independent third-party agency like NSDL for further action in the matter. In the mail, Punit Sethi acknowledges having obtained a recorded video with the faulty system, and submitted a copy of the same to the current President, with a strong request to stop the elections with questions of integrity coming to the surface once again.