West Bengal polls: 48 hours before counting, EC appoints 165 more observers

KOLKATA: Within hours of the Supreme Court hearing, the EC on Saturday deployed 165 additional counting observers across Bengal, just 48 hours before the vote counting on Monday. All these officers, who will be stationed at strongrooms with multiple counting halls, are central govt officers.

Also, in a first, the EC has deputed 77 police observers "to ensure a smooth, secure, and transparent vote-counting process", but ordered that these observers must not enter the counting halls. The EC's order in the wake of Trinamool complaining that this had no precedent and that police observers cannot slip into the role of counting observers.



The EC had earlier appointed 294 counting observers for the 294 constituencies on the day of counting.

The notification issued on Saturday read: "Additional counting observers have been appointed to assist the counting observers for 165 constituencies that have more than one counting hall. Police observers will oversee the security and law-and-order arrangements around the counting centres assigned to them and ensure that the security arrangements around the counting centres are as per the Commission's instructions."

The EC stated that the move aims at ensuring counting is conducted in a peaceful, intimidation-free environment. The observers have been appointed under the provisions of Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1951. During their tenure, they will function under the direct supervision of the EC.

According to EC sources, on the day of the vote counting spread across 77 counting centres in Bengal, three counting personnel will be deputed at every counting table where EVM-polled votes will be counted. For counting postal ballots, 4-5 counting personnel will be deployed at every table.

"Of these three people, one will be a micro-observer, who is a central govt employee. In addition, there will be a counting supervisor and a counting assistant. Of the total required counting supervisors and counting assistants, 50% will be central govt employees and the remaining will be state govt officials," sources said, adding that approximately 30,000 officials in total will be engaged in the vote-counting process on Monday.

To maintain transparency, counting supervisors will prepare Form 17C-II in the presence of counting agents, who will be allowed to verify and sign the results. Micro-observers stationed at each table will independently record results for cross-verification at the end of every round.
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