Nuapada/Bhubaneswar: Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth counting of votes to be taken up on Friday for the by-election in Odisha’s Nuapada Assembly constituency.
The result of the high-stakes bypoll is also set to be announced on Friday after completion of vote counting, which is slated to begin at 8 am.
Officials said the counting will be held at Nuapada National College under a three-tier security arrangement. A total of 26 rounds of counting will be conducted, and arrangements have been made for 14 counting tables to cover 358 polling booths.
Ballot paper counting will commence at 8 am, followed by EVM vote counting 30 minutes later. Those involved in the counting process have been adequately trained, and security measures have been tightened to ensure a smooth and transparent procedure.
Notably, the by-election held on November 11 witnessed a historic voter turnout of over 83.45 per cent, one of the highest recorded in the region. Political parties have expressed enthusiasm over the strong participation.
Sharing details of the arrangements made for the counting, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R S Gopalan said all necessary measures have been taken to ensure transparency and smooth conduct of the exercise.
As many as 14 tables have been set up for counting of votes to be conducted in 26 rounds. The process will begin with the counting of postal ballots, and after 30 minutes, counting of votes recorded in EVMs will commence, he said.
In case of any EVM malfunction, the voting slips available in the VVPAT will be counted manually to ensure accuracy, he said.
Notably, the fate of 14 candidates is now locked in the EVMs while a triangular fight is expected between BJP, BJD and Congress.