India, Jan. 16 -- Voting for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections, held after a gap of nearly nine years, was marred by technical glitches in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the absence of Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units at several polling stations, leading to confusion among voters and raising concerns over transparency.

Several voters reported difficulty in understanding EVM indicators and said they were unsure whether their votes had been successfully registered. Complaints were reported from areas, including ward number 9 (Sus-Baner-Pashan), where voters said there was no clear confirmation after pressing the ballot button.

The absence of VVPAT machines, which allow voters to visually verify their vo...