Bhubaneswar: With people of Balasore Sadar and Tirtol assembly constituencies eagerly awaiting the results of the recently held by-elections, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Sushil Lohani on Monday has shared details on the necessary arrangements in place for counting of votes which will begin at 8 am tomorrow (November 10).
A three-layer security arrangement has been made for counting of votes in the assembly constituencies. The local police will be in-charge of the outer layer while the innermost layer will comprise the central paramilitary forces, informed Sushil Lohani.
The counting of votes will be held at Collectorate campus in Balasore and SVM College in Jagatsinghpur district for the Tirtol bypoll.
Special arrangements have been made for the counting of votes at both the centres keeping in mind the protocols of COVID-19 pandemic. The counting of votes will be held simultaneously at 7 tables in each of the counting centre. A total of three counting halls each will be used for the purpose, Lohani informed.
“There would be seven tables each in two halls and the postal ballots will be counted in the third hall in both the counting centres in Balasore and Tirtol. Apart from special barricades, transparent polythene sheets will also be fixed to maintain social distancing. Face-cover masks will be mandatory for all counting personnel and agents,” said Lohani.
Lohani further said there will be 3 counting personnel for every counting table, which will include 1 counting assistant, 1 supervisor and micro-observers. A total of 110 counting personnel and 57 micro-observers have been appointed for the same.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines, VVPAT slips of randomly picked five booths will be counted. The results will be updated on the official website results.eci.gov.in and announced periodically at the respecting counting centres.
“Even though the number of booths has increased, we hope counting of votes will finish by the evening,” Lohani added.
(Edited By Devbrat Patnaik)