Punjab Congress on Friday urged the Election Commission of India to take certain immediate steps, including time-bound declaration of results immediately after counting to make the counting process transparent and check the possibility of any irregularity at the constituency level. A delegation led by State Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa called on the Chief Election Commissioner and submitted a three-page memorandum making some suggestions. Responding, the CEC said that the demands were genuine and justified and that the Commission would look into the matter.
The delegation recommended that after signing of Form-17C by the returning officer, a copy of the same be supplied to the candidate, his election agent or counting agent after each round of counting.
It added that after each round of counting, Part II of Form 17C is filled in by the counting superviser, noting separately the votes polled by each candidate. “He signs it and also gets it signed by the candidate or the election agent or the counting agent, as the case may be, present at the counting table. Thereafter, the same is submitted to the returning officer who countersigns it. However, the copy is not handed over to the candidates or their agents,” added the memorandum.
The delegation said that regarding entries in Form 20, it is provided that the same would be announced so that the candidates and their agents might take note of the results of counting in respect of each polling station. Alternatively, the entries can be written on the black board.
It was further opined that the copies of Form 20 duly signed by all be supplied to the candidate or his agent, after each round of counting. The agents noting down the votes polled or writing on the blackboard was an old practice and it should be changed by providing photo copies with all the details filled in to the agents, it added.
Referring to the declaration of results after counting, the delegation pointed out that in several cases, it was observed that the returning officers delayed the declaration of results after counting deliberately and allegations of mischief had also been leveled.
“In order to avoid such allegations and make process more transparent, strict instructions should be given to the counting officers to declare the results in a time-bound manner, within half an hour or one hour of the completion of the counting process. In case of any delay, the returning officer should be instructed to record reason for the same and the copies of the same be supplied to the candidates or their agents,” demanded the delegation.
Concluding, the delegation stated that directions be issued to the returning officers to supply copies of all videography and CCTV recordings of the entire counting process on demand to the candidate or the agent on payment.