Bhubaneswar: Counting of votes for Jharsuguda by-election, which saw 79.21 % polling on May 10, will begin at 8 am at 14 tables on Saturday (May 13).
Briefing the media, Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, Nikunja Dhal said that there will be 18 complete rounds and one partial round and postal ballots will be counted first. “Counting of the votes polled through the EVMS will start by 8.30 am. The strongroom is on the same campus. There will be strict access control,” he said.
A three-layer security arrangement has been made for the counting process, he added.
Notably, around 1,75, 616 voters (79.21%) exercised their franchise in the bypoll which was necessitated following the murder of the sitting MLA and health minister Naba Kishore Das on January 29. The male voter turnout in the constituency stood at 80% (89,044) while the female voter turnout was 77.96% (86,560). Of the 63 transgender voters, 12 exercised their franchise.
The strongroom was sealed on Thursday night in the presence of observers, political parties and candidates.
