Election Staff Should Work Hard For Effective Elections: Ronald Rose

Hyderabad, October 18: Hyderabad District Election Officer, GHMC Commissioner Ronald Rose said that the election staff should work hard to conduct the elections effectively. The District Election Officer imparted training to Returning Officers, Constituency Level Master Trainees, ALM Ts Master Trainees, and (MTs) Special Officers through power point presentation on the conduct of elections at Sevalal Banjara Bhavan in Banjara Hills on Wednesday.

On this occasion, District Election Officer Ronald Rose said… He advised the officials to take proper precautions in conducting the election as per the code of conduct of the election. About 34 thousand presiding officers, assistant presiding officers, and polling staff have been appointed in 15 constituencies of Hyderabad district. On the day before the polling, the precautions to be taken by the PO on the polling day and the points to be followed as per the election rules were thoroughly explained.

The officials were made aware of various aspects of the methods of checking the relevant material taken by the distribution center. He said that the election equipment should be taken directly to the polling stations. He said that mock polling should be conducted before the polling day in the presence of polling agents and then the mock poll should be certified.

Presiding and assistant presiding women officers who are performing duties in this election have been given the freedom to go home without being there on the day before polling, but on the next polling day at 5 a.m., they should be at the polling station by 5 a.m. Mock polling will be held at 5.30 a.m. Mock polling requires agents from at least two different parties.

It was explained that two agents belonging to the same party should not be present in mock polling and should not be present during the meeting. The presiding officers should perform their duties impartially on the polling day. He said that postal ballot form-12 will be provided to the polling staff in the training program of presiding officers soon.

He said that in this election they are providing the facility of voting directly in the postal ballot instead of taking the postal ballot home. He said that steps will be taken to have women polling staff in all the polling stations. Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that as part of the secrecy of voting, one should not tell who has voted.

Violation is punishable by imprisonment for three months. He said that strict action will be taken against those who commit any violations at the polling centers. He said that the presiding officers must have a list of electoral and ASD (absent, shift, delete).

He said that if there are any technical problems in the polling centers, the sectoral officials should be informed immediately. The EVMs should be submitted to the Returning Officer safely immediately after the polling. On the day of polling, the voter verification paper and audit trail (VVPAT) will be detected by a beep sound within seven seconds after voting through the ballot unit in the EVMs.

He said that if the paper is not generated in the VVPAT after voting through the ballot unit (BU), the RO should be immediately informed and steps should be taken to change the relevant ballot unit. He said that there is a possibility that there will be two ballot units in some polling centers if more people are in the contest.

In this election, the Election Commission of India has newly provided the facility of postal ballot to the elderly above 80 years and the disabled. If they apply for this postal ballot, the polling staff will go to their house and receive the postal ballot vote. It was clarified that they would not be allowed to come back to the polling center and vote even if they asked for a postal ballot. He said that it has been informed that it is a postal ballot in the voter list.

He said that steps should be taken to prevent anyone from entering within 100 meters of the polling center. He said that voter helpline counters should be set up in polling centers through BLO. There should be proper lighting in the voting compartment in the polling centers and secrecy of vote should be observed. The Presiding Officers should assign duties like reading the voter list, putting ink, and registering the voter’s name by Polling Officers 1, 2, and 3.

After the completion of voting, the registration of votes should be checked through this V. He said that the polling staff should correct the votes cast by the entire control unit where the vote was registered. On the day of polling, POs are lower-level staff but should not make mistakes by following the instructions of the agents. The District Election Officer suggested that decisions should be taken following the rules of the election. It is advised to follow the rules and regulations on check vote, tender vote, and challenge vote during polling.

He said that steps should be taken to mark the right hand of the helpers brought by the blind and weak voters on the day of polling. He said that the people standing in the queue at the end of the voting time should be given an opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

Deputy DEO Anudeep Durishetti said that the ROs, POs, and Sectoral Officers who perform duties in the elections should work as a team and everyone should work in coordination to make the elections successful. He said that they have been given complete information regarding the election rules and they should perform their duties accordingly. He said that training programs are being organized for the polling officials.

Additional Commissioner Shankaraiah, Khairatabad Zonal Commissioner Venkatesh Dotre, Cantonment CEO Madhukar Naik, Joint Commissioner Venkat Reddy, Sunanda, and others participated in this training program.

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