Panaji, Dec 6 (IANS): Voters in Goa will now be able to visually verify their vote, thanks to Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) to be introduced in upcoming state legislative assembly elections, a senior poll official said on Monday.

According to Siva Raman, nodal officer for computer sessions for the Election Commission of India, the VVPAT is a "completely independent vote verification system", which is attached to an electronic voting machine like a printer and allows the voter to know whether the vote has been cast correctly or not.

"Once the button of his choice is pressed by the voter on the EVM, a printed paper will appear containing the name of the candidate and poll symbol, so the voter can verify and visually ensure the vote has been cast correctly," Raman said.

"After the voter views the receipt, it goes inside a container linked to the EVM, which can be accessed only by the polling officers," Raman said at a meeting of poll officials with representatives of district administration and political parties in Panaji.

"This latest system is another step further towards prevention of electoral fraud," he said, adding that the VVPAT could help virtually eliminate manipulation of poll results. Elections to the state legislative assembly are likely to be held in Goa early next year.