The First Level Checking (FLC) of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines will begin in all districts of Punjab from November 12, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anindita Mitra said on Tuesday.The Punjab assembly elections are due early next year.The Punajb CEO said the first-level checking of EVMs and VVPATs is an essential process prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that only fully functional and election-ready machines are used during the polls.She said that as per the guidelines of the ECI, the checking of EVMs and VVPATs to be used in every general election and bye-election is conducted under the supervision of the District Election Officer by authorised engineers of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).The CEO stated that only those EVMs and VVPATs which successfully pass the First Level Checking will be used in the Vidhan Sabha elections.The detailed procedure for FLC would be conducted as per instructions of the ECI.All necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the smooth, transparent and systematic conduct of the FLC process.The FLC process would be conducted under the supervision of the concerned district election officers and will be monitored at the level of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, as well as the ECI.The CEO further said that to ensure complete transparency and accountability throughout the process, live webcasting of the entire FLC process will be conducted at all 23 locations.Two display screens–one at the FLC site and the other at the respective DC office–have been installed at each district headquarter so that representatives can closely observe the proceedings.Dedicated screens have also been set up at the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) headquarters to oversee the entire process live. Furthermore, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed observers to supervise these operations.Mitra urged all recognised political parties to authorise their representatives to witness the FLC of EVMs and VVPAT machines.She emphasised that the presence of party representatives during the FLC process would further strengthen transparency, build confidence among stakeholders and ensure that the entire process is carried out in a fair and impartial manner, in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.