For the first time in Punjab civic body polls, ballot papers, with photographs of the candidates contesting from the ward, will be used in the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The move is aimed at facilitating the voters to cast their votes to their favourite candidate without any confusion, a senior official of the State Election Commission on Monday told The Pioneer.
The move came after the Election Commission had noticed that in many cases, candidates with same or similar names contest from the same constituency causing confusion among the voters at the time they come to cast their votes.
The official said that for the first time, the initiative has been taken in the state and all the EVMs to be used for the polling on December 17 will have photographs of the candidates.
It has been informed that these ballot papers would be of great use for the voters as they can cast their vote without any confusion in case two or more candidates have the same name.
“The Commission believed that photographs of candidates on ballot paper would facilitate the electors in casting their votes while further strengthening the democracy at grass root level,” said the official.