Arrangements are being made to webcast polling in all sensitive booths in the local body elections and wherever the facility cannot be provided the entire poll process will be videographed, said State Election Commissioner S. Ayyar here on Saturday.
Affirming that the State Election Commission has put in place necessary measures to ensure a free, fair and transparent elections, Mr. Ayyar said that district officials would reassess the list of polling stations identified as sensitive. “The list is likely to change as it is a dynamic situation and sensitivity will be determined on the basis of the ground situation and local issues.”
Mr. Ayyar told reporters that booth slips, to be issued by the State Election Commission, would be accepted as a proof of identity apart from Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). Booth slips alone would be enough for the voters to exercise their franchise.
The slips would be distributed door-to-door by officials and the exercise completed three days ahead of the polls. Special booths would be set up in front of polling stations on the day of polling to distribute the slips to those had not received them.
District and police officers had been instructed to ensure tight security in the run-up to the elections, and on polling and counting days. “I have requested the officers to ensure that there is no scope for any untoward incident and make this a model election.” The lessons learnt from mistakes of the previous local body election, the mistakes pointed out by the High Court and its directions would be kept in mind. Officials on poll duty had been instructed to remain neutral and ensure that the poll process was fully transparent. On the deployment of Central forces, Mr.Ayyar said that the Commission had requested the Director General of Police to assess the manpower requirement and seek Central forces, if necessary.
Answering a query on whether campaigning for civic polls would be allowed in the Tiruchi West Assembly segment between October 10 and 13, in view of the by-election there on October 13, Mr. Ayyar said that candidates could take up door-to-door canvassing without fanfare. Guidelines in this regard would be issued by the district administration.
Earlier, Mr. Ayyar chaired a meeting to review the arrangements with officials of eight districts. Collectors Jayashree Muralidharan (Tiruchi), B.Maheswari (Pudukottai), V. Shobana (Karur), Anu George (Ariyalur), Darez Ahmed (Perambalur), K. Baskaran (Thanjavur), T. Munusamy (Nagapattinam) and C. Munianathan (Tiruvarur), Inspector General of Police, Central Zone, K.C. Mahali, City Police Commissioner E. Ma. Masanamuthu and other officials attended the meeting.
