Kangpokpi DEO updates on preparations for polls
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIO

Kangpokpi, April 07 2024: Kangpokpi district election officer (DEO)/deputy commissioner (DC) Mahesh Chaudhari on Saturday briefed the media regarding ongoing commissioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) in the district, as per the guidelines set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) .

Addressing the media, the DEO said that the entire process is being carried out under 24x7 CCTV coverage to maintain complete transparency and in the presence of representatives of political parties.

Informing that adequate security measures have been put in place for the commissioning and at the strong rooms, he stated that representatives of political parties are also involved in the mock election exercise, which is an integral part of the commissioning process.

Further stating that the said process is being done under the supervision of district's senior election officers with engineers from the ECI as guides, DEO Mahesh conveyed that 3-4 days ahead of the actual poll day (April 19), the 'vote-from-home' facilities will commence in presence of polling officials consisting of videographer, photographer and security personnel.

It may be mentioned that this time, the home voting facility has been extended to senior citizens above 85 years of age and voters with over 40 per cent disability to make the elections more inclusive.

Mentioning that election observers have thoroughly inspected the overall preparedness in the district, the DEO stated that the observers interacted with district political parties and staff of the DEO office, visited a school that will serve as a polling station and a relief camp.

He also informed that the polling procedure for postal ballot is in the final stages and teams have been formed for training from next week.

Emphasising on the Systemat ic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities conducted under ADC, Sadar Hills CEO, he stated that the voter education and awareness programmes are being undertaken at various locations such as Nute Kailhang (Ima Market), schools, colleges and at the IDP households.

The main objective of these activities is to promote a systematic approach towards voter education and encourage electoral participation among citizens, he added.

On the other hand, deputy DEO and nodal officer (NO) for training management informed that second round of group wise training for presiding officer, polling ofhcers-1, 2 and 3 has been completed on Saturday with the third round training scheduled from next week and for micro-observers from April 8.Polling personnel having doubt even after the training may join training on April 15, the deputy DEO said, adding that for vote-from-home scheme, postal ballot polling personnel will visit homes of senior citizens and persons with disabilities on April 9, and on April 12 if required.

Regarding exemption from election duties, District Level Medical Board chairman informed that the board conducted a session on April 2 with list of exempted polling personnel available on the district website.

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