3.50 lakh officers and employees on election duty to cast postal ballots
Bhopal: About 3.50 lakh officers and employees to be deployed in poll duty in Vidhan Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh on November 25 will exercise their franchise through postal ballots. For this, office of the Chief Electoral Officer has started large-scale preparations. Apart from officers and employees on poll duty, 19 thousand 669 service voters will also cast postal ballots. These employees are posted outside the state. Besides, about 18 thousand drivers, cleaners and helpers will also be issued postal ballots.
Returning officers of concerning Vidhan Sabha constituencies will send postal ballots to service voters. service voters include members of armed forces, members of the forces to which sub-sections with or without clauses of Army Act 1950 apply, members of state’s armed force doing duty outside the state and those working outside the country under Central Government. Postal ballots for Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha will be printed in pink colour. Each postal ballot will contain names of the candidates and their parties in a column. Generally, one column will not include names of more than 9 candidates. This number will not be over 15 in any case. No election symbol will be printed on the postal ballot which will be printed in English and Hindi.
Postal ballots will be sent to all service voters whose name figure in electoral rolls. Arrangements for printing and sending postal ballots will be made by election officers. Postal ballots will be printed within 24 hours after last hour of withdrawal of names by candidates and sent to service voters within next 24 hours. Commission’s election observers posted in districts will oversee entire process of postal ballots and send their reports to the commission after dispatch. Postal ballots to voters posted abroad will be sent by airmail. Postal Department has also appointed nodal officers at each R.O. level for this.
Apart from sending postal ballots to government employees, police and security personnel on poll duty, returning officers will also receive back postal ballots. Entire data of government employees on poll duty will be maintained including their Vidhan Sabha constituency, name, number and place where they have been included in electoral rolls. Employees on poll duty will have to fill up and submit Form 12 on the first day of their training. In view of possibility of delay in receiving back postal ballots, the commission has prescribed a system for this.
Soon after receiving postal ballot from returning officer/assistant returning officer, employees on poll duty will immediately select candidate of their choice on the postal ballot and submit it at postal ballot facilitation centre. Strict secrecy will be maintained in this regard. At the facilitation centre, the voter will have to attest Form 13-5 in the presence of competent authority. After completing prescribed procedure, the postal ballot will be inserted in drop box. Strict security arrangements will be ensured at postal ballot facilitation centres.
For voting by security personnel, SPs will appoint district-wise nodal officers. Nodal officers will chalk out a list of all police personnel containing their names, service identity card number, constituency number etc. Due to their deployment in different places, police personnel are unable to cast their votes the same day. Due to it, it has been decided that police personnel will exercise their franchise through postal ballots.
Postal ballots will also be used by drivers, cleaners and helpers deployed on poll duty. Form-12 will also reach them within a prescribed time-limit. It has been directed to get data of drivers and cleaners approved by the CEO to maintain uniformity in this work throughout the state. A time-table will be chalked out for drivers-cleaners for receiving postal ballots from them within a prescribed time-limit. It has also been clarified that address of voter in Form-12 should be his own and not of anyone else. Every R.O. will have a sealed box with security lock for receiving postal ballots from such voters of all categories. They will insert their sealed ballot papers in this box. Any employee against whose name PB is inscribed will not be entitled to vote at any polling centre in any case.
