Date:18/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/18/stories/2008051859700600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

CEO cautions presiding officers

Special Correspondent

Re-poll if they enter balloting unit

I.V. Subba Rao

HYDERABAD: Chief Electoral Officer I. V. Subba Rao has asked presiding officers of the polling stations not to enter the enclosure of ‘balloting unit’ of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) where voters will cast their votes. He warned that a re-poll will be ordered if they do so.

He said the Election Commission decided to order re-poll wherever the presiding officer or other poling officials entered the ‘balloting unit’ enclosures, in view of regular complaints that these officials tampered with the balloting unit to favour a candidate in the name of explaining their functioning to innocent voters.

Special observers

Speaking to reporters on his return from Delhi after attending a meeting held by the EC on Andhra Pradesh byelections, Mr Rao said the EC had appointed S. Subbaiah, and N. Sivasailam, both senior IAS officers from other States, as special observers.

They would submit reports on the goings-on regularly and issue notices to the guilty for any violation of election code. These would be in addition to 48 general/expenditure observers already named, and micro-observers to be posted for sensitive/troublesome polling stations.

He instructed the election officials in the districts to ensure random selection of EVMs compulsorily at constituency and polling station levels in the light of apprehensions that a particular set of EVMs might be sent to a specific constituency/polling station after pre-setting its programme.