The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued directions to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of Uttarakhand and four other poll-bound States, for making fool-proof security arrangements for vote counting to be held on March 11. These directions are in addition to those issued earlier in the ECI’s letters, wherein the commission had issued detailed instructions regarding storage and safety arrangements of the electronic voting machines, appointment of counting staff/ counting agents and counting procedures.
The commission had several rounds of video conferences with the CEOs and ROs of Uttarakhand and four other states to take first hand inputs on the preparedness of the counting arrangements. Giving details of the security mechanism set up, the senior election commission officer said that the ECI is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure fair and transparent counting arrangements at all the counting centres. The ECI has taken feedback from all political parties and candidates, based on which these additional instructions have been issued with a view to further bolster security arrangements to tackle both general as well as situation-specific exigencies and ensure a smooth counting process in a transparent manner.
The ECI has instructed the Uttarakhand CEO Radha Raturi and all district election officers (DEOs) to make the above arrangements and undertake counting process cautiously, step by step and without undue haste so as to make them fool-proof, the EC officer added.
The ECI has instructed that all the existing instructions of ECI on counting arrangement should be strictly followed by the DEOs and returning officers (ROs) in letter and spirit. Proper barricading arrangements must be ensured inside each of the counting hall with welded wire mesh to segregate the counting agents from the counting personnel and EVMs as per the commission’s instructions. In each of the counting hall proper arrangement for videography should be made to record the general happenings in the counting hall for effective monitoring of the counting process as per the commission’s instructions. Effective barricading from the strong room door up to the counting hall door shall made in such a way that EVMs of each constituency should go to its respective counting hall only and shall not criss-cross each other. For ease of identification, coloured badges may be given to the staff engaged for transporting the EVMs to a particular counting hall each of constituency. As per the commission’s instructions, all counting arrangements must be completed by the night of March 7. The observers shall visit the counting halls on March 8 and then send a report to the commission on counting arrangements. On the date of counting, additional closed circuit television camera may be installed at such locations from where carrying of EVMs from the strong room to the counting hall can be recorded for effective monitoring. The CEO shall personally monitor and ensure that all the counting arrangements are done as per the instructions of the commission.
The entire plan would be shared with contesting candidates by each DEO. The EC officer further informed that these arrangements would ensure prevention of access to any anti-social element and that frisking will be done so that no one enters the area with arms and ammunition. No one would be able to enter the counting arena without getting frisked, stressed the official.