Over 9.78 lakh people to vote in Udupi for Assembly elections — DC Priyanka
Udupi: “The Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement of the election schedule for Karnataka assembly elections”, said Priyanka Mary Francis deputy commissioner of Udupi district in a press meet held at the DC office here on March 27.
Addressing the mediapersons DC Priyanka said that the election commission of India announced the schedule for the Karnataka Assembly elections on March 27. The state Assembly elections in Karnataka will be held on May 12 and the votes will be counted on May 15. The EC will issue the notification for the elections on April 17, but the Model Code of Conduct came into effect immediately after the announcement of the elections.
In Udupi district, 978503 voters are expected to exercise their franchise and the commission will set up 1078 polling stations across the district, she said.
April 24 will be the last date for filing nominations and April 27 will be the last date for withdrawal of the same. The nominations would be scrutinized on April 25. Polling will be held in a single phase on May 12. The votes will be counted on May 15 and the results are expected on the same day.
The Commission has issued instructions to ensure that as far as practicable, all polling stations are located on the ground floor and sturdy ramps are provided for the convenience of the differently-abled voters with wheel-chairs. Further, in order to provide targeted and need-based facilitation to the differently-abled voters, the Commission has directed that all Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in an Assembly Constituency are identified and tagged to their respective Polling Stations and necessary disability-specific arrangements made for their smooth and convenient voting experience on the poll day. Identified PWDs will be assisted by volunteers appointed by RO/DEO. Special arrangements will be made for PWDs at the Polling Stations. Also, it has been directed that the differently-abled voters are given priority to enter polling booths, provide designated parking spaces close to the entrance of the polling booths and take special care of voters with speech and hearing impairment. The polling personnel will be sensitized in regard to the unique needs of the differently-abled voters.
As part of its firm commitment towards gender equality and greater constructive participation of women in the electoral process, the 5 Commission has also directed that, to the extent possible, ‘All- women Managed Polling booth’ shall be set up in one polling station for each Assembly Constituency where the entire polling staff, including the police and security personnel, shall be women. Total 5 Women managed Polling booths will be set up in the entire district of Udupi for the first time.
EVMs & VVPATs shall be used in all the polling stations of Udupi district to enhance the transparency and credibility of the election. The Commission has already made arrangements to ensure the availability of an adequate number of EVMs and VVPATs for the smooth conduct of the election. The First Level Check of EVMs and VVPATs has been completed in the presence of representatives of political parties. A two-stage randomization of EVMs and VVPATs will also be done. In the first stage, all the EVMs and VVPATs stored in the district EVM warehouse will be randomized by the District Election Officer (DEO) in the presence of the representatives of the recognized political parties for Assembly Constituency-wise allocation. The second randomization of EVMs and VVPATs will be done at the RO level before the candidate setting of EVMs and VVPATs for polling station-wise allocation. This is done in the presence of the General Observer of Election Commission of India, contesting candidates/their agents. This process will be carried out after the finalization of the contesting candidates. At this stage also, candidates or their agents/representatives will be allowed to check and satisfy themselves in every manner about the error-free functioning of the EVMs and VVPATs. On a pilot basis, VVPAT from One (1) Polling Station in each Assembly Constituency will be randomly selected by the Returning Officer by Draw of Lot in presence of all candidates to count VVPAT paper slips for verification of the result obtained from the Control Unit. Thus, paper slip for one polling station in each Assembly Constituency will be counted in the district.
The Model Code of Conduct comes into effect immediately. All the provisions of the Model Code will apply to the whole of Udupi district and will be applicable to all the candidates / political parties. The Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective implementation of the MCC Guidelines.
Comprehensive instructions for the purpose of effective monitoring of the election expenditure of the candidates have been issued, which include the formation of Flying Squads (FS), Static Surveillance Teams (SST), Video Surveillance Teams (VST), the involvement of Investigation Directorate of Income Tax Dept. etc. State Excise Department and police authorities have been asked to monitor production, distribution, sale and storage of liquor and other intoxicants (including narcotics) during the election process. The functioning and operations of the Flying Squads/Mobile Teams shall be closely monitored using GPS Tracking, she added.
Additional DC Anuradha, ZP CEO Shivandanda Kapashi were also present.
