COUNTING
OF VOTES - POLITY
News:
From 8 am today: how votes will be counted
What's
in the news?
●
Over
the last month and a half, 642 million voters have spoken in the largest
democratic exercise in the history of the world.
●
The
counting of votes will begin at 8 am on 4th June 2024.
Counting
of Votes:
●
Counting
is carried out under the supervision and direction of the Returning Officer (RO) for each seat, in the presence of the candidates
and their election agents.
○
The
RO, typically the District Magistrate of
the district concerned, is nominated by the ECI.
●
Assistant Returning Officers are also empowered to oversee the counting, especially
where an RO is responsible for more than one constituency.
●
The
actual counting of votes in the EVMs at various tables is done by counting
officials appointed by the RO, based on the anticipated number of postal
ballots and the number of counting tables.
Persons
Allowed Inside Counting Hall:
The following are allowed to enter the counting hall such
as
●
Counting
supervisers
●
Counting
assistants
●
Micro-observers
●
ECI-authorised
individuals
●
Observers
●
Public
servants on election duty
●
Candidates,
election agents, and counting agents.
Important
Takeaways:
●
The
law permits the candidate to appoint as
many counting agents as there are counting tables, including the table
where postal ballots are counted.
●
Police officers and government ministers are not
classified as “public servants” in this context.
●
No
one, including the candidate, RO, or Assistant RO, is permitted to carry a
mobile phone inside the counting hall.
○
The
only person who can do so is the ECI’s
Observer.
Selection
of Counting Hall:
●
Rule 51 (“Time and place for counting of votes”) of The
Conduct of Election Rules, 1961,
says that the “returning officer
shall, at least one week before the date, or the first of the dates, fixed for
the poll, appoint the place or places where the counting of votes will be done
and the date and time at which the counting will commence…”.
●
The
ECI’s Handbook for Returning Officers says: “For the sake of uniformity, the date and time of counting of votes is fixed
by the Commission.”
Types
of Votes Counted:
Two types of votes are counted as follows.
●
EVM
votes
●
Vtes
cast through postal ballots (which are used for senior citizens, physically
challenged individuals, service voters, etc).
Postal
ballots are counted separately from EVM votes.
Tallying
with VVPAT:
●
The
tallying of VVPAT commences after all rounds of EVM counting are completed.
This process is done sequentially, not simultaneously, for all polling
stations.
● On average, it takes about an hour to verify the slips from each VVPAT machine.