The Election Commission is gearing up to conduct assembly elections in five states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.
The term of the present Uttar Pradesh assembly ends in May, while the term of the other four assemblies ends in March on different dates.
Elections are going to be held in these states amid the surge of COVID-19. Hence EC plans to implement strict protocols and standard operating procedures to ensure proper handling of COVID.
Here are the live updates from the media briefing:
3.40 pm
Postal Ballot for Senior Citizens
Explaining the change in polling booth, Mr. Chandra explains:
The maximum number of voters per polling station came down from 1,500 to 1,250 due to the pandemic situation.
Some polling stations will be managed exclusively by women and persons with disabilities.
All stations will be made handicap friendly. Volunteers will be available to help them.
A polling team accompanied by polling officers will visit the home of senior citizen voters and they can cast their vote by postal ballot. The process will be videographed.
3.35 pm
Improvement in sex ratio
More than 13 crore voters will take part in this election, Mr. Chandra says.
Women’s participation has increased in all these states. This is a healthy sign. He says that the sex ratio has also increased in all the states.
He said that 24.9 lakh would be first time voters.
The number of polling stations increased by 16% as compared to 2017, they say.
3.30 pm
Elections with COVID Protocol
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra says that this time voting will be held in 690 assembly seats of Goa, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.
For the past two years, the impact of COVID-19 has made the conduct of elections difficult. It is our duty to see how the election is conducted in a safe manner. He says that the Election Commission has made new protocols.
He narrates the various discussions of the Commission with various stakeholders including political parties, District Magistrates etc. All were in favor of extending the vote, he says.
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