EC decides against postal ballot facility to voters above 65


New Delhi, Jul 16 (IANS): After criticism from various political parties, the Election Commission on Thursday said that it has decided not to extend the facility of postal ballot to electors above 65 years of age in the coming Bihar Assembly elections and in bypolls due in near future.

The Commission, in a statement, said that it "has been constantly monitoring the electoral preparedness" for the coming by-elections and the Bihar polls "in view of this unprecedented environment".

"The Commission has already limited the number of electors to one thousand for each polling station for ease of voting, especially for elderly and vulnerable sections of electors, in Covid-19 situations."

However, facility of optional postal ballot to electors who are above 80 years of age, disabled voters, the electors engaged in essential services and voters who are Covid- 19 positive/suspect in quarantine will be extended, it said.

The commission said in view of its restrictions on number of voters at a polling station, Bihar is creating approximately 34,000 additional polling stations (45 per cent more), which will increase the total number of polling stations to around 1,06,000.

"This would entail formidable logistical challenges of mobilizing 1.8 lakh more polling personnel and other additional resources including requirement of much larger number of vehicles in the state of Bihar. Similar challenges would be there for the coming by-elections also," it said.

 

  

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Comment on this article

  • mohan, Mangalore

    Fri, Jul 17 2020

    This is pro BJP ... because all senior citizens are not voting for BJP... ... this another type of directorship..

    DisAgree [1] Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mumbai

    Fri, Jul 17 2020

    Senior Citizens are all annoyed after Dwindling Interest Rates & 18% GST payable on all Schemes ...

    DisAgree [1] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • smr, Karkala

    Thu, Jul 16 2020

    The Gujarat High Court has recently declared state minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama’s 2017 election void this on grounds of multiple discrepancies.

    The verdict invoked the Representation of the People Act 1951, including Section 100 of Act, which allows an election to be declared void on the ground of “corrupt practice”.

    The case centres on BJP leader Chudasama’s win over Congress candidate Ashwin Rathod from Gujarat’s Dholka assembly constituency in 2017.

    In Dholka, Chudasama had defeated Rathod by a narrow margin of 327 votes. It was on a petition filed by Rathod against the election verdict that the Gujarat High Court took up the case.

    Chudasama and Jani claimed in court that 429 of the total 1,356 postal ballots received were rejected. Of the remaining 927 ballots, Rathod got 527 votes and Chudasama, 341.

    1. If the postal ballot rejected in order to elect the BJP candidate by Election Commission of India, how does the elderly voters can trust the system?
    2. Why did EC hurriedly destroyed VVPAT slips used in 2019 LS elections?(The used or printed VVPAT slips in any election... shall be retained for one year and shall thereafter be destroyed,” says Rule 94 (b) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.)
    3. Why did ECI destroyed all VVPAT slips in four months from the result against the ruling on one year?
    4. Why ECI is not following the Singapore model of conducting elections despite the Pandemic?
    5. Who will be accountable for not counting postal ballot of the voters?
    Jai Hind

    DisAgree [1] Agree Reply Report Abuse


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