Bhubaneswar: With the five-phase Panchayat Elections ending on Thursday, preparations for counting of votes under tight security arrangements and CCTV surveillance at all block headquarters in Odisha on February 26, 27 and 28, have begun.
“The counting of votes will commence at 8 am on February 26 with panchayat-wise tables being set up for the process,” State Election Commission (SEC) Secretary Rabindra Sahu informed on Wednesday.
It is for the first time that central counting will be done at the blocks instead of the polling booths.
The counting will be held zone wise in numerical order. One table will be set up for each gram panchayat under that Zilla Parishad and trays in accordance with the number of candidates will be laid on it. The same number of trays will be used for putting aside those votes declared invalid. The ballot papers will be segregated on the basis of colour and votes polled by ward members will be counted first, followed by that of sarpanch, Samiti members and Zilla Parishad candidates.
Another table will be set up for Election Officer and counting supervisor, two assistant counting officers and a ground D employee. “Counting for all wards under a gram panchayat will be done on that table. The results will be declared after ward-wise counting,” he added.
An agent of a candidate will also be allowed during the counting process.
Meanwhile, a meeting of State Election Commissioner AP Padhi with DGP and other senior officials is underway o review the security arrangement for the counting process.
On Tuesday, the SEC had revised guidelines for persons entering the counting centres. Only double vaccinated persons will be allowed inside the counting centres after being thermally scanned. Those showing COVID-19 symptoms will not be allowed inside the centres.
Earlier, the SEC had made COVID-19 testing (RT-PCR or Antigen) mandatory for all those entering counting centres. They were asked to go for the test within 48 hours of the commencement of counting even if fully vaccinated.
