Don’t come out of counting centres before results are out, Palaniswami tells party agents

AIADMK advises agents to remain vigilant during vote counting in Tamil Nadu, follow procedures and report issues promptly.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday advised the counting centre agents of his party as well as those of the allies to remain vigilant on June 4, the day of counting of votes polled in the April 19 Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu.

The agents should not report at the counting centres without identity cards or late and should turn up well in advance, he said in a statement. They should sit at the tables allotted to them. “Those who enter the counting centres should not come out under any circumstances until the results are declared. They should exercise extreme caution,” Mr. Palaniswami said.

The agents should check whether all the procedures were followed, and the seal of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) was intact, he said. They should check whether the figures in the EVMs matched with those in the Form 17C announced earlier. “Do check whether the number of votes in every round add up when the final figures are announced by the Returning Officers,” he said.

In case of any grievance or issue, the chief agents of the candidates should be alerted, written complaints should be submitted, and acknowledgement should be received, Mr. Palaniswami said.