Categorical Information Service
KOCHI: Anoop (title modified), a voter in Ettumanoor meeting constituency in Kottayam district, got here to know that his title was included within the voters’ lists of two polling cubicles solely when he arrived to train his franchise at one in all them as per the voter slip in his possession on Tuesday morning. To his shock, no guideline issued by the Election Fee to stop double voting due to a number of entries within the electoral rolls was adopted by the officers on the sales space whilst he solid his vote.
In one other occasion, the officers couldn’t detect that the title of George C V (title modified), a voter in Kalamassery meeting constituency in Ernakulam, was additionally within the electoral rolls of Thrikkakara constituency, when he arrived to solid his vote at Kalamassery.Although the Election Fee had issued a slew of directives to stop double voting, a number of cases the place these have been applied in letter and spirit have come to gentle.
“After I arrived on the sales space, the LDF sales space agent cited that my title was included within the ASD (Absentee, Shifted and Useless) record and, therefore, the procedures prescribed by the Election Fee ought to be adhered to. However the presiding officer let me solid the vote. They didn’t take my {photograph} or insisted on submitting the affidavit as mandated by the EC,” Anoop mentioned.
Nonetheless, there have been additionally cases when the principles have been adopted. As an example, a 55-year-old girl, a authorities official who hails from Wayanad and dealing in Kochi, needed to submit an affidavit and look ahead to about a couple of minutes to get the ink dried earlier than she was allowed to go away the sales space at Thrikkakara.
The Election Fee had ready a separate record of ASD voters following the complaints of a number of entries of names within the electoral rolls. As per the directives of EC, the polling officers ought to take pictures of all ASD voters recognized within the polling cubicles and likewise receive a self- declaration from all absentee and shifted voters as underneath Part 31 of Illustration of Individuals Act, 1951. The signatures and thumb impressions of all absentee and shifted voters also needs to be obtained. The officers ought to allow the absentee and shifted voters to go away the polling cubicles solely after the indelible ink had dried.
In Ernakulam district, 3,686 ASD voters solid their votes till 3pm. Of them, the best quantity (535) was recorded in Tripunithura whereas the bottom was in Kothamangalam (39).D Balamurali, Further Chief Electoral Officer, mentioned an inventory of ASD voters was ready to stop double voting. “Stringent steps have been taken to stop it. A separate information on this was compiled by the officers,” he mentioned.
