12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election : 78.03 pc voter turnout logged till 5 pm
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 28 2022: Polling for first phase of Manipur Assembly elections ended peacefully today with 78.03 percent of the total 12,09,439 voters in the State turning out to exercise their franchise as per report available from Constituencies upto 5 pm today.

Giving the final details, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manipur Rajesh Agrawal said in a statement issued today that of the total 38 Constituencies which went to poll in the first phase today, Konthoujam AC remained at the top with highest polling percentage of 90.10 percent, followed by Patsoi (90 percent) and Wangoi AC (88.06 percent), while Tipaimukh AC (63.61 percent), Saikot AC (68.5 percent) witnessed lowest voting percentage.

The final voting percentage will be notified after the arrival of all polling parties.

12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election : 78.03 pc voter turnout logged till 5 pm

A total of 38 Assembly Constituencies including 10 in Imphal East, 13 in Imphal West, 6 in Bishnupur, 6 in Churachandpur and 3 in Kangpokpi went for polls today.

All the polling stations were beautifully decorated with selfie booths, welcome gates including red carpet welcome especially in all women and model polling stations, he added.

People participated in big numbers and many shared their enriching experience of polling at the booth.

The centenarian voters and PwD voters also came out in large number and exercised their franchise.

The volunteers at the booth assisted them with wheel chairs etc for a smooth voting experience.

Many elderlies, PwD and first-time voters were also felicitated by the polling teams at the booth.

The active participation of electors in this election has truly made these elections a festival of democracy, the CEO added.

Polling parties have started returning from their respective polling stations.

EVMs are being deposited to the strong rooms and shall be guarded by a three tier security system.

He said that security forces have been keeping a strict vigil round the clock at strong rooms.

The scrutiny of Form 17 A and other documents will be conducted by the Returning Officers in presence of General Observers on 1st March.

Decisions on re-polls, if any, shall be decided accordingly.

To ensure COVID-19 safe election, adequate arrangements were made in all polling stations.

All polling stations were sanitised.

ASHA and Anganwadi workers at each polling station helped in thermal screening and queue management.

Marking of circles with minimum distance was done to avoid crowding.

Besides, mask, gloves were provided to voters requiring the same, the CEO informed.

The movement of EVMs were tracked with the help of e-Traccar app which was embedded in the mobile phones of Polling personnel and Sector Officers.

Besides, eAtlas app was used by polling teams which enables a polling personnel to report any sort of EVM malfunctioning or any untoward incident happening in the polling station, added the statement.

In addition, micro observers were also deployed in all critical polling stations to monitor the overall poll process.

On Law & Order situation, Rajesh Agrawal said that some poll related minor incidents were reported in few polling stations and appropriate action on the same were taken.

In addition, a total of 32 observers deputed by the Election Commission of India for first phase of polls, including the Special Observers, were mobile throughout the day witnessing polling at hundreds of polling stations.

They were very satisfied with the arrangements at the polling stations and the participation of voters in a big way.

Divulging more details, he said that in the morning during the mock poll 6 ballot units, 13 control units and 14 VVPAT machines were replaced, while 11 ballot units, 10 control units and 20 VVPATs were successfully replaced during the conduct of the poll.

The poll process was not vitiated at any polling station due to malfunctioning of EVM, added the statement.

There were complaints from certain political parties & candidates during the poll.

However, the majority of the issues were resolved and prompt actions were taken.