Challenging last month’s notification issued by the State Election Commissioner (SEC) for panchayat elections, an aspiring candidate from Puri district has approached the Orissa High Court seeking its intervention. She has sought for counting of votes of Zilla Parishad Members separately at the respective block or district headquarters after completion of all the five-phase polling.
Jubuli Sethi of Delang block, who wishes to contest election for Puri Zilla Parishad Zone 16, in a PIl, has challenged the SEC notification that announced the dates of polling and counting of the five-phase elections for Ward Members, Sarpanches, Panchayat Samiti Members and Zilla Parishad Members. The counting of votes is also scheduled to also be held on the same days in booths itself.
Sethi has stated that since elections for ZP Members are to be held under political parties’ affiliations and on party symbols, the counting of these votes should be taken up separately only after completion of the polling of all phases lest the victory of one candidate in a zone could be used as a campaign for the same party candidate in the neighbouring zone that would go for voting on a later date.
Stating that the practice of a single-day counting of votes is followed in the multiple phases of elections for lok Sabha, Assembly and Urban local Body (UlB), the petitioner has referred to a guideline in this regard issued by the Election Commission of India in January 2009 in pursuance to an order passed by the Supreme Court in matters relating to publication of results and opinion and exit polls.