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EC to come up with Covid-19 related plan for counting of votes taking local conditions into account
According to the guidelines, nodal officers will be appointed for each counting centre to ensure adherence to the Covid-19 related protocols
A detailed Covid-19 related plan for counting of votes in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, West Bengal and Puducherry on May 2 will be prepared taking local conditions into account, the Election Commission of India (EC) said on Wednesday. “Three-layer plan will be prepared in consultation with the concerned Nodal Health Officers: AC [assembly constituency], District, and State levels. In case of by-elections, the plans will be prepared at the District and AC levels in consultation with respective Nodal Health Officers,” said the poll watchdog, citing its broad guidelines.
According to the guidelines, nodal officers will be appointed for each counting centre to ensure adherence to the Covid-19 related protocols. The counting centres, where tables have been reduced from 14 to 7, will have to obtain a compliance certificate from the concerned health authorities. The candidates and their agents will only be allowed to enter the centres after producing Covid negative reports. Public gatherings outside the counting halls have also been banned. The EC has also reiterated the need for wearing masks, sanitisation, disinfection of the counting stations and social distancing norms. Non-compliance with the instructions will result in prosecution under the Disaster Management Act, it added.
The plan is being prepared as India faces the worst surge of Covid-19 infections. The second wave of the pandemic has pushed the death toll close to 200,000 and starved hospitals of life-saving medical oxygen and beds.
The EC on Tuesday banned victory processions on or after the counting of votes and limited the number of people accompanying a victorious candidate to two. This came a day after Madras high court blamed the poll panel for the current surge of coronavirus infections across India.
The EC has faced criticism from health experts and the judiciary for rampant violation of Covid-19 protocol in campaigning and the 34-day-long election season, especially in Bengal, where daily infections have zoomed 75 times since polls were announced on February 26.
The poll body has issued guidelines from time to time but steered clear of booking any leader or political party for violation of norms. It has, however, issued multiple show-cause notices and filed over 70 cases for violation of Covid-19 protocol.
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EC has also come under fire for staggering the Bengal elections across eight phases and not merging the later rounds even in the face of rising infections and deaths.
On Monday, the Madras high court warned that it could even stall the counting of votes unless EC produced a Covid-19 protocol blueprint on April 30. The court said at no cost can counting be allowed to become a catalyst for further cases. “It is only when a citizen survives that he’ll be able to enjoy the rights that a democratic republic guarantees,” the court said, noting that face masks and sanitisers were not used, and no social distancing was maintained during campaigning. This came days after similar criticism by the Calcutta high court last week.
On Tuesday, the commission defended itself and said enforcing provisions of the law to fight the pandemic was the responsibility of state disaster management bodies.
