Election Commission meets CEOs of 5 states due for polls next year, reviews preparations

Stepping up preparations for the Assembly polls in 5 states due early next year, the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday reviewed advance planning with the Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. While the terms of the legislative assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab and Uttarakhand are scheduled to end on different dates in March 2022, the UP Assembly's term ends in May. 

Election Commission meets CEOs of 5 states

The Election Commission's meeting on Wednesday focussed on various thematic issues including assured minimum facilities at polling stations, ease of registrations for voters, electoral roll, timely resolution of grievances, arrangements of electronic voting and paper trial machines, postal ballot facility for senior citizens, who are 80 and above, and people with disabilities. 

As per the official statement, a COVID mitigation plan, training of poll staff and extensive voter outreach were amongst the other issues, which were discussed in the meeting ahead of Assembly elections. CEO Sushil Chandra in his address said transparency and impartiality are the hallmarks of the election process.

He noted that issues and challenges may be different in each state, but election planning needs to have a voter-centric approach and participative decision-making involving all stakeholders. During his address, he also stressed the significance of the purity of the electoral roll and asked the CEOs for expeditious redressal of all pending applications for voter registration. Emphasising the rationalisation of polling stations keeping in view the COVID-19 pandemic, Sushil Chandra reiterated the need to have basic facilities and infrastructure in all polling stations. 

Remarking that all logistical challenges in the implementation of postal ballot facilities for senior citizens and people with disabilities need to be identified, Chandra said that all of these should be resolved for the Assembly Election's smooth and transparent implementation during the polls. 

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey, while interacting with the CEOs, emphasised that periodic and comprehensive monitoring on each aspect of the election should be done by the CEOs of all the poll-going states. He also highlighted the need to activate the ground level election machinery in the five states to start the preparations. 

With PTI inputs

Image: PTI