Police personnel seen stationed outside the Government College of Engineering in Chithode, the Erode Parliamentary constituency’s counting centre
| Photo Credit: GOVARTHAN M
The stage is set for counting of votes, polled in the Erode Parliamentary constituency, at the Government College of Engineering in Chithode, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.
The counting process will begin with the strong room, where boxes containing postal ballots, will be opened around 7.30 a.m. and taken to the counting hall and counting will commence at 8 a.m., on nine tables. Following this, strong rooms in which electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) used in the Assembly constituencies of Kumarapalayam, Erode (East), Erode (South), Modakkurichi, Dharapuram and Kangayam, will also be taken to the counting halls and the counting will start at 8.30 a.m. Votes will be counted on 14 tables for each Assembly constituency by three counting staff who will be monitored by a micro-observer. The entire process will be video-graphed.
Election officials said of the total 15,38,778 voters, 10,86,287 voters exercised their franchise at 1,688 polling stations, besides those who did so through postal ballots. The results of each round will be sent to the Election Commission instantly and will also be announced through the public address system at the counting centre. Counting of votes may take between 17 to 22 rounds and the process is expected to be completed by 8 p.m.
Officials said staff for counting have been asked to report at 5 a.m., while agents of candidates with the identity card provided by the Election Commission of India will only be allowed to enter the centre at 6 a.m. “Agents will not be allowed to carry their mobile phones,” said the official. Basic amenities, including drinking water facilities and mobile toilets, are in place.
Over 1,000 police personnel will be on duty in and around the counting centre and across the district. Also, medical teams and fire and rescue services personnel have been stationed on the premises.
