A section of micro observers on Wednesday raised strong protest over the alleged laxity in ensuring timely postal vote service for them. The protesters claimed that their applications for postal ballots were received by the authorities only on April 22 after they raised concerns about the chances of losing their vote.
“We got the official order to work as micro observers only on April 18. We were also asked to appear for training on April 20. When we sought postal voting service during the training, the officials came out with a strange reply that it was closed by April 19,” said one of the micro observers who was part of the protests. He said no confirmation was given by the authorities till 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
The protesters who also raised their concerns in a WhatsApp group of election officials said the negligence would spoil the chance of voting for several officials on duty. There should have been proper arrangements in advance to avoid such last-minute hurdles, they said.
Some of them also complained that the Assistant Returning Officers concerned were not answering their queries properly. There were also allegations that the filled application forms for postal ballots did not even reach the hands of the Assistant Returning Officers concerned to give clearance.