Staff urged to stick to guidelines while counting postal ballots

District Election Officer and Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara instructs staff on postal ballot counting guidelines for Erode Parliamentary constituency.

District Election Officer and Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara has instructed staff involved in counting postal ballots on June 4 to strictly adhere to guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

On Friday, a training programme was held at the Government College of Engineering in Chithode for the staff responsible for counting postal ballots for the Erode Parliamentary constituency. Addressing the participants, the Collector explained that postal ballot votes include those cast by persons over 85 years old and differently-abled individuals collected by mobile teams, votes cast by officials from other Parliamentary constituencies involved in election duty at facilitation centres, and votes cast by service voters through the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot Management System (ETPBMS).

The Collector emphasized that all staff must carry their identity cards and report to the counting centre at 6 a.m. on June 4. Mr. Raja Gopal Sunkara also noted that while the Election Monitoring Officer, Returning Officer, and Assistant Returning Officer are permitted to have mobile phones, these must be in silent mode to receive OTPs. Staff involved in counting votes and counting agents are required to deposit their mobile phones at the information centre and obtain an acknowledgment.

At the postal ballot counting centre, eight tables have been set up for the segregation and counting of votes, with a separate table designated for votes cast through ETPBMS. Each table will be manned by an assistant returning officer, counting staff, a supervisor, an assistant for the counting staff, and two micro-observers.

The Collector stated that the counting of postal ballot votes will commence at 8 a.m., followed by the counting of votes polled in electronic voting machines at 8:30 a.m.