All arrangements are in place for the May 16 elections to the 14 Assembly constituencies in the capital district.
An electorate of 26,99,984 is to decide the fate of 135 candidates in the 14 Assembly segments. Of the 26,99,984 voters on the voters’ list in the district, 12,76,346 are men and 14,23,638 are women.
Photo voter slip from the Election Commission had been issued to 86.87 per cent of the voters through 213 booth-level officers (BLOs) and the remaining had been kept in the safe custody of tahsildars.
As many as 2,203 booths will be set up for the polling that will commence at 7 a.m. on Monday and go on till 6 p.m., District Collector Biju Prabhakar told a press conference here on Saturday. The booths, including the 451 listed as sensitive, are under constant surveillance.
Auxiliary booths
Fourteen auxiliary booths have been set up in booths were the total number of voters crossed 1,750. As many as 9,692 officials have been deployed for polling duty in the district.
The Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT), a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballot-less voting system, is to be introduced at 85 polling stations in Nemom and 69 in Vattiyurkavu constituencies where the number of voters is less than 1,350.
Braille ballot for visually challenged, inclusion of 70 transgenders on the voters’ list, 32 all-women polling stations at Nemom, Vattiyurkavu, Thiruvananthapuram and Kazhakuttam, and 70 model stations are the other highlights.
Wheelchairs bought
At the initiative of the Collector, 117 wheelchairs have been purchased with the help of the lead bank for the 32 all-women polling stations and 70 model polling stations to help the physically challenged vote.
These will be gifted to the Medical College and the PHCs later.
Webcasting, videographing, 140 micro observers, and CCTVs will be used to monitor polling.
As many as 232 cameras will be used for live streaming from the booths. A toll-free number 1800 425 0086 has been made available for the public needing assistance.
District Police Chief (Rural) Shafeen Ahmed and the City Police Commissioner, G. Sparjan Kumar said the police be present at the booths from Saturday night.
As many as 1,800 police personnel will be deployed in the city police limits and 4,000 in the rural limits. The 24 border points with adjoining Tamil Nadu and Kollam have been sealed and police have been deployed, Mr. Ahmed said.
The polling officer need arrive at the distribution centre only at 10 a.m. on May 15. They will be provided polling materials and will move to the polling station after lunch at the 13 distribution centres by around 1.30 a.m.
The District Collector said those who do not have vote in the capital and political leaders, except candidates, should leave the district as the campaigning has ended.
“We have inputs about those staying here and force will be used to shift them out of the district”.
Ban on liquor sale
Bulk SMS and advertisements through TV and radio will not be allowed and a 48-hour ban on sale of liquor has been enforced.
It will also be enforced during the day of counting as directed by the Election Commission, he added.
The booths, including the 451 listed as sensitive, are under constant surveillance.
