IANS | 15 May, 2024
After the successful completion of two phases of Lok Sabha elections
in Rajasthan, the Election Commission (EC) is all set for counting of
votes that will be done on June 4 and has directed setting up of 27
counting centres in the desert state, said officials on Wednesday.
The
counting of votes will be done for all Lok Sabha constituencies as well
as for the Bagidora Assembly bye-election, said Chief Electoral Officer
Praveen Gupta.
He further said that work will start at 8 am and in the first round postal votes will be counted, followed by EVMs at 8.30 am.
Before
the counting of postal ballots begins, the authorized agent will brief
the candidates about the process and later the votes received by each
candidate will be announced.
CEO Gupta also reviewed preparations
with District Election Officers on Tuesday via video conferencing and
discussed the necessary guidelines regarding the place and process of
counting.
Gupta asked all the District Election Officers to ensure
that the guidelines given by the EC were followed and gave instructions
regarding preparation of the venue, security arrangements inside and
outside the venue, counting team, EVM and postal ballot counting,
videography during the process and other arrangements.
He said that strong arrangements should be made for the security of EVMs and counting process should be completely transparent.
He
said that as per the provisions of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure by the District Magistrate, there will be a ban on victory
processions, celebratory firing, use of DJs, rally etc after the
counting of votes is done.
He also said that mobile phones were
completely banned and no agent or candidate would be able to go inside
the centre with a mobile phone.
