Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
The Election Commission of India has issued detailed guidelines for poll officials for the vote counting on June 4, covering Lok Sabha elections, bye-elections, and State Legislative Assemblies.
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District Election Officers, Returning Officers (RO), and Observers are required to fully comply with existing guidelines for counting arrangements in and around Counting Centers before the scheduled start of vote counting.
Vote counting for a constituency will not begin if there are any pending ECI orders regarding an adjourned poll at any polling station. However, if a re-poll is taking place on the counting day, the process can commence, with the penultimate round of counting starting only after re-polled EVMs and VVPATs are securely escorted to the counting hall.
The RO must read aloud the provisions of Section 128 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 and Rule 54 of Conduct of Election Rules 1961 to maintain vote secrecy. Counting shall be continuous without any interval under Rule 60 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
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Unauthorized persons are not allowed in the counting hall. Under Rule 53(4), the RO has the authority to direct anyone to leave the Counting Center if they fail to obey lawful directions.
According to Rule 54A, the counting of postal ballots must begin at the RO's table. Only postal ballot papers received by the RO before the scheduled start time for counting will be considered.
The RO must provide the latest account of postal ballots to the Observer at the start of counting. They must also demonstrate the requirements of a valid declaration to all counting supervisors. All rejected postal ballots due to defects in the Declaration in Form-13A must be re-verified by the RO before final rejection.
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Voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha was conducted concurrently with Assembly elections in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. The seven-phase voting process concluded on Saturday, with vote counting set for June 4.