Arrangements for counting of votes begin

Nainital, February 2
The election authorities in Uttarakhand have started making arrangements for the counting of the votes polling for which had taken place on January 30.

Chief Election Officer Radha Raturi has asked all district election officers (DEOs) to make elaborate preparations for the day when the counting is scheduled to take place on March 6.

In a videoconferencing session with the DEOs held this morning, Raturi, with the help of a power point presentation, discussed about the preventive measures that are required to be taken with regard to the counting of the votes for the 70 Assembly seats.

She laid particular stress on the data entry operations that are to be carried out by officials of the Network Information Services (NIS) and those entrusted with the polling duties at the district level.

She underlined that all arrangements be made well on time. She said the personnel who were supposed to be enrolled for the counting of votes needed to be trained for the purpose well on time. Besides this, the computers and printers that were to be used for the counting of votes and the declaration of results must be in proper working order, she said.

All the DEOs have been asked to start making arrangements for the preparation of various data bases and other documents that are required for the counting procedures as per the directions of the Election Commission of India.

The data base pertaining to the electronic voting machines are to be prepared. The DEOs have also been asked to get booklets prepared with regard to the details of the polling that took place in various constituencies in their respective districts. The booklets are to be prepared on a priority basis as they are to serve as referral points on several occasions.