All arrangements in place for vote counting, says Tamil Nadu CEO Patnaik

CHENNAI: All arrangements are in place, including a comprehensive three-tier security plan, for counting of votes on May 4 at the 62 designated counting centres across the state, Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, Archana Patnaik has said.

Elections to 234 Assembly segments were held in the state on April 23.

The incumbent DMK regime has fought big to retain power, and its archrival AIADMK has slogged to win power after five years as the principal opposition party. Actor-politician Vijay-led TVK's entry into the electoral arena has made predictions about the winning prospects tough and the Tamil nationalist Seeman's NTK is another factor in the polls.

The counting of votes will commence at 8 AM with the postal ballot counting and at 8.30 AM, counting of votes recorded in EVMs will commence. Approximately 1.25 lakh personnel which includes officials, and micro-observers on vote-counting duty and police have been deployed.

Polling was held on April 23 in all the 75,064 polling stations for the Tamil Nadu Assembly election. For the purpose of counting of votes recorded in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), 234 counting halls have been arranged.

An additional 240 halls have been designated for the counting of Postal Ballots and Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots (ETPBs). A total of 3,324 counting tables will be used for the counting of polled votes, Chief Electoral Officer Patnaik said in an official release.

The counting operations will be conducted by the Returning Officers (ROs) with the help of Assistant Returning Officers (AROs). A total of 10,545 counting personnel have been drafted for counting duty, supported by 4,624 micro-observers to ensure transparency and integrity of the counting process.

Police sources said approximately one lakh personnel are being deployed for security on vote counting day.

The Election Commission has deputed 234 Counting Observers, one for each Assembly constituency, to oversee the counting proceedings and ensure strict compliance of norms. For the counting of postal ballots, one counting table will be provided for every 500 ballots. In this regard, 1,135 additional AROs have been deployed.

A comprehensive three-tier security arrangement has been established at all counting centres to ensure the integrity and smooth conduct of the counting process.

Outer perimeter of 100 meters around each counting centre will be guarded by adequate police personnel. The second tier of security covering the entry gates of the counting premises will be secured by the State Armed police. The third tier covers the "innermost security layer ," including the entrance to counting halls and the EVM strong rooms and here, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will have authority.

In addition to the local police and State Armed Police, 65 companies of the CAPF have been deployed at the counting centres to further strengthen security arrangements. Further, as a first-time initiative, the Election Commission has introduced a QR code-based Photo Identity Card system through ECINET with the objective of preventing unauthorised entry into counting centres.

At the third and innermost security checkpoint, entry will be permitted only upon successful verification through QR code scanning.

The QR code-based Photo Identity Cards shall be mandatory for all categories of authorised personnel permitted entry into the counting centres and halls, including Returning Officers, AROs, counting staff, technical personnel, candidates, election agents, and counting agents, among others.

The round wise results of all the Assembly Constituencies will be announced by the concerned Returning Officer using the public address system at the respective center and the same will be reflected in the ECINET app. The results can also be viewed from the portal, results.eci.gov.in .