Odisha Govt Issues COVID Guidelines For Panchayat Elections; Details Here

Bhubaneswar: In view of the spread of COVID in the third wave, the state government on Wednesday issued a set of guidelines for elections to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) next month.

The office of Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), in an official order, said, “As per the COVID guidelines issued by State Election Commission, the state government, in supersession of earlier instructions hereby lays down the following stipulations for general elections to PRIs, 2022.”

The order stated that since the area of the panchayat constituency is small, the campaign should be restricted to the constituency concerned only. The candidates should wear face masks and undertake door-to-door campaign with minimum supporters, maintaining social distance during the campaign. Maximum 5 persons including the candidate are allowed during door-to-door campaign.

Following are other guidelines of the SRC:

• As far as possible the priority should be given to the campaign through social/
  electronic media.
• COVID positive candidates should restrict their campaign through electronic media only.
• Physical presence in campaign is strictly prohibited.
• Political parties and candidates should conduct the campaign through digital/virtual/media platforms/mobile based mode instead of physical mode ensuring strict compliance of COVID safety norms.
• No Road show, padyatra, cycle/bike/vehicle rally and procession are allowed.
• No physical rally of political parties or probable candidates or any other groups related to election are allowed.
• No victory procession after the counting is allowed and not more than two
  persons to accompany the winning candidate.
• Political parties/candidates having their camp office in different Wards should be instructed to wear face mask and often sanitize their hands
• To avoid overcrowding, district administration will identify multiple dispersal/receiving/counting centres in the block headquarters as per orders of State Election Commission.
• While filing nominations, either the candidate or one proposer will enter Election Officer’s office by following social distancing and observing COVID protocols.
• Large gatherings in the dispersal/receiving centres should be avoided and proper social distancing measures undertaken.
• Large gatherings outside the counting centre should be prohibited.

The SRC in its order said anybody violating the instructions will face legal action as per the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and IPC.