Presidential polls: EC starts distribution of ballot boxes, paper pens

The election commission had earlier conducted a review meeting on the preparedness of the upcoming Presidential elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday started distributing ballot boxes, paper pens and other sealed materials for the upcoming Presidential election, scheduled for July 18. The two-day exercise will be supervised by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner (EC) Anup Chandra Pandey. The sealed materials were handed over to the assistant returning officers (ARO) of the state and Union Territories after their inspection was completed.

On June 13, the RO, AROs and CEOs were briefed about the election procedure. (File image)

“The Commission mandates the collection of the materials from the ECI headquarters at Delhi by Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) including one senior officer from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. Once they reach Delhi, officials are also assisted at the help desk at the Delhi Airport manned by the officials of the Election Commission of India, Civil Aviation, Delhi Police, and CISF,” ECI said in a statement.

The election commission had earlier conducted a review meeting on the preparedness of the upcoming Presidential elections. The meeting was attended by the Returning Officer (RO) P C Mody along with AROs and chief electoral officers of all states and UTs.

On June 13, the RO, AROs and CEOs were briefed about the election procedure for the conduct of the Presidential election in a workshop. “The Commission has also appointed 37 Observers for overseeing the arrangements of polling and counting during elections and a briefing meeting of these Observers was also organized on 11th July 2022,” said the statement.

The ballot boxes are flown on a separate air ticket and they are kept beside the seat of AROs under personal supervision, according to ECI. The Chief Election Commissioner said strict adherence to procedures by the ECI teams has become its hallmark in delivering error-free elections time and again. “A set of well-defined instructions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) that are required to be followed thoroughly to complete every electoral process account for ECI’s robustness for conducting elections,” CEC Kumar added.

The ballot boxes along with ballot papers will be stored in an already sanitised and sealed rooms after they reach their respective state capitals. According to ECI, the ballot papers and boxes along with other election materials will be required to be transported back to the office of the Returning Officer at the Rajya Sabha Secretariat by the next available flight after the poll is over.