Tag: election counting

By: Express News Service | Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram |
Updated: May 2, 2021 4:06:49 am
Counting of votes in 4 states and a Union Territory will probably be held on Sunday, bringing to an finish a heated, acrimonious ballot season amid a raging pandemic.
The Election Commission has made a number of preparations—resembling growing the variety of counting halls, limiting the variety of officers inside, and making vaccination certificates or adverse exams necessary for entry—to make sure adherence to Covid-19 protocols amid the counting course of. It has additionally banned victory rallies.
In West Bengal, counting will happen amid a three-layer safety association at 108 counting centres. At least 292 observers have been appointed. As many as 256 firms of central forces have been deployed on the counting centres throughout 23 districts of the state that voted in eight phases between March 27 and April 29.
The TMC and the BJP are locked in a bitter wrestle for the 294 Assembly seats within the state, with exit polls predicting a detailed contest. In Kerala, the counting will probably be held at 114 centres. Exit polls have tipped the CPI(M)-led LDF authorities to return to energy, retaining out the Congress-led UDF for the second straight time. Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer Teek Ram Meena stated 633 counting halls have been organized within the centres for counting votes for the 140 Assembly constituencies. He stated the variety of halls has been elevated from 140 contemplating the pandemic. Counting of votes polled within the by-election to Malappuram Lok Sabha seat will even be executed.
In Assam, the variety of counting halls has been elevated from 143 within the 2016 Assembly Election to 331 this time, in keeping with CEO Nitin Khade.
The three-phase election, held between March 27 and April 6, noticed a triangular contest between the NDA — the BJP, the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People’s Party Liberal; the ‘mahajot’ — Congress, All India United Democratic Front, Bodoland People’s Front, three Left events and the regional Anchalik Gana Morcha; and the alliance of two newly-formed regional events — Assam Jatiya Parishad and the Raijor Dal.

Exit polls have projected that the BJP-led alliance will kind the federal government for the second consecutive time. The celebration Friday stated it expects to win round 85 of the 126 seats with its allies.
Extensive preparations have been made for Sunday’s counting in Tamil Nadu. The course of begins at 8 am within the state’s 75 centres and will probably be backed by one lakh police personnel. About 20,000 personnel will probably be deployed in Chennai alone.The election for the 234-seat Assembly occurred on April 6.

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo stated surveillance cameras will probably be put in at every desk to observe the counting course of. With most exit polls predicting a victory for the DMK-led alliance, the ruling AIADMK needed to challenge a press release interesting to cadres to not imagine within the forecast. A senior AIADMK chief stated the celebration was working extra time to make sure the presence of their native leaders as chief brokers and counting brokers till the declaration of outcomes.

The Election Commission (EC) mentioned Saturday that near 90 % of the 1.5 lakh counting brokers of candidates who contested Assembly elections in 4 states and one UT have been “facilitated” to check for Covid-19 an infection forward of relying on May 2.
For the remaining, the EC mentioned, Covid-19 assessments have been organized by the respective District Election Officers (DEOs). “The Commission has also directed to accept test reports from any authorised lab,” the EC’s launch states.
The Commission has greater than doubled the variety of counting halls — from 1002 in 2016 to 2,364 this time — to comply with social distancing and different Covid-safety measures. That aside, 1,100 counting observers have been deputed to step in case of any “pandemic-related replacement.”
Counting on Sunday will probably be carried out by roughly 95,000 officers together with micro observers. The EC this week made it necessary for all contesting candidates and their polling brokers to both take a look at damaging for Covid-19 or present proof of getting obtained each doses of vaccines to enter the counting centres on May 2. This instruction is a part of the Commission’s detailed Covid-19 protocol launched Wednesday for the counting day when the outcomes of the Assembly elections held in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry will probably be declared.

The directions come a number of days after the Madras High COurt got here down closely on the EC for “not stopping political parties” from violating Covid protocols throughout their marketing campaign rallies final month.