TNSEC brings 9 poll-bound dists under security surveillance

State Election Commissioner V Palanikumar will monitor the live streaming of polling and the arrangements made by the District Election Commissioners at the TNSEC headquarters at Koyambedu. The District Collectors and police officers handling the elections also apprised the Election Commission on the multi-tier security systems positioned to handle the elections.

First phase of polling will commence on Wednesday at 6 am and continue till 7 pm. Indelible ink, ballot paper, polling materials and stationeries were moved to the polling booths on Tuesday. Those with COVID symptoms will be allowed to vote during the last one hour in PPE gear and ballot boxes will be moved to the strong rooms by Wednesday night. Similar rules will be followed for the second phase of polling on October 9 and all strong rooms will be under CCTV camera surveillance monitored at district collectorates, sources said. Poll officials on Monday urged party workers to move out from poll-bound localities if they were outsiders, TNSEC sources said. Votes will be counted on October 12 and the meeting of the first elected councils will be on October 20. Indirect elections to the post of chairman and vice chairman are likely by the fourth week of this month. The works for urban local body polls has also commenced and elections are likely by the end of December or January next year.