Polling duty to continue till election material is handed over: Gujarat SEC

Gandhinagar, Oct 8 (IANS) Polling personnel deployed for the upcoming local body elections in Gujarat will continue to be considered on election duty until they complete the process of returning election material, even if this extends into the day after polling, the State Election Commission (SEC) clarified on Thursday.

The clarification comes ahead of polling for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, Okha and Thara municipalities and by-elections to seven vacant seats in various local bodies, scheduled for October 11. Counting of votes will take place on October 13.

The election programme provides for scrutiny of nominations on September 28 and withdrawal of candidature on September 29, with the election process scheduled to conclude on October 15.

The SEC said polling personnel generally complete voting on election day and then proceed to receiving centres to return polling material.

Depending on the location of the polling station and the distance to the receiving centre, the process may continue until late at night or into the early hours of the following day.

Taking this into account, the commission has decided that personnel who are unable to report to their original offices on the day after polling because their presence is still required for election-related work will have that day treated as a day of election duty.

“Work from completion of polling until handing over of election material will be considered election duty,” the commission said in its clarification.

Such personnel will not be required to report to their original offices on the following day. Instead, they will remain engaged in completing their election duty and formally handing over the polling material at the designated receiving centre.

The upcoming elections include the 44 seats across 11 wards of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation.

The SEC has said more than 2,000 personnel will be involved in the election process for the GMC polls, while voting across the three local bodies will be conducted using electronic voting machines.

The clarification is aimed at addressing the duty status of polling staff whose election-related responsibilities extend beyond the scheduled polling day, particularly where the return and submission of election material takes them into the following day.

--IANS

mys/dan