Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 06 2009:
Polling agents of the recent Lok Sabha election in Manipur held in two phases will not be allowed to check the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during the counting hour on May 16, according to a government order.
An order circulated to political parties by the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) asked the political parties to assign their respective counting agents for counting on May 16 .
The order has however slight dissimilarity with the previous government orders that had been issued before counting of votes to the disadvantage of political parties.
According to the order, two agents each should be sent from a single assembly constituency.
Identity cards will be issued to the agents after the agents duly filled in a prescribed form with a stamp size photograph which will bear the signature of the Returning Officer, the order stated.
It further ordered the agents to report to the RO personally on counting day for verification.
The order indicates that the agents will not be allowed to check the EVM while also forbidding the polling agents to be present in the counting hall.
It said that an assembly constituency will be represented by only two agents.
Meanwhile, some spokesmen of various political parties have said that only two agents will not be able to look after the whole polling stations where there are 30-32 polling stations in the assembly constituencies.
They also doubted the transparency of counting in this manner.
The order said that the two counting agents of a constituency will be present in the counting room/hall till the end of counting.
It also said that those polling agents on voting days who have been issued identity cards would not be permitted inside the counting hall unless they get their identity card anew from the RO.