Kerala Polls: Postal Ballots Counted First, Mobile Phones Allowed Till Booth Gate

Addressing a press conference in Kerala following two days of poll preparedness, CEC Gyanesh Kumar announced that postal ballots will be counted two rounds before EVMs and there will be mandatory counting of VVPAT slips in case of a mismatch between Form 17C and EVM data.

Noting new initiatives by the Election Commission for "ease of voting," he said, "Electors will be allowed to carry their mobile phones till the gate of the polling station. In order to enable the electors to select candidates without any doubt, colour photos of candidates will be available for the first time in Kerala. The Presiding Officer will directly upload voter turnout data on the ECINET app every two hours."

"To reduce pressure on returning officers, the postal ballots will be counted 2 rounds before EVMs. Mandatory counting of VVPAT slips in every case of mismatch between Form 17C and EVM data," he added.

Following meetings with political parties, CEC Kumar said that Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll was taken with a clear objective, that "no eligible voter is to be excluded while no ineligible person should be included."

Describing the poll preparedness review, he said, "We had meetings with the entire state election machinery and detailed interactions with all political parties. We also met the youth, the icons, who are going to vote in the upcoming elections. I also appreciate the Literacy Club. I also acknowledge the hard work by our booth-level officers for successfully completing the SIR in Kerala. Democracy is not new to Kerala; in fact, Kerala has taught it to many parts of the country and the world. Kerala also made the first code of conduct in 1960, which was later adopted by the ECI in consultation with all parties."

"Pure electoral rolls are the bedrock of democracy. The SIR undertaken had a clear objective, that no eligible voter is to be excluded while no ineligible person should be included," he added.

He also announced that all polling stations will have 100 per cent web casting.

The CEC said, "100 per cent webcasting will be at all polling stations. The commission had taken the decision to give more facilities to electors. There shall not be more than 1200 electors in any booth. There will be 397 women-managed polling booths and 790 model polling stations."

"We have 2.43 lakhs Divyang voters and more than two lakh senior citizens with age above 85 years, and they will have an optional voting at their homes. We have 1571 electors who are more than 100 years of age. To ensure that young voters participate, there will be 138 dedicated AEROs to campaign in colleges," the CEC said.

Kerala is set to hold Legislative Assembly elections later this year.

During the review visit, the Commission interacted with representatives of recognised national political parties, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress (INC).

The Commission also met representatives of recognised state political parties such as Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress, Kerala Congress (M) and Revolutionary Socialist Party and sought their suggestions.

According to a press release, several parties urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to keep in mind upcoming local festivals while finalising the dates of the elections.

- ANI