All arrangements to facilitate the counting of votes polled in the Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituencies on June 4 have been completed.
According to V. Vigneshwari, Kottayam District Collector, all arrangements have been finalised at the Government Arts and Science College at Nattakom, the counting centre for the Kottayam constituency. The counting of postal ballots will commence at 8 a.m., followed by the counting of votes from electronic voting machines (EVMs). The first trends are expected to be available by 9 a.m.
The Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency comprises the Piravom, Pala, Kaduthuruthy, Vaikom, Ettumanur, Kottayam, and Puthuppally Assembly segments. A total of 14 candidates are in the running for this seat.
A team of 675 trained officers, including 158 counting supervisors, 158 micro-observers, and 315 counting assistants, have been appointed to lead the counting process. Additionally, 44 assistant returning officers will handle postal ballots and electronically transmitted postal ballots (ETPBS), while four executive magistrates will be responsible for maintaining law and order.
Counting officials are required to report to the centres at 6 a.m., when a randomisation process will determine their assignments at each counting table.
A total of 129 tables are set for counting. There will be 98 desks to count the votes in the EVMs, with each Assembly constituency containing 14 tables each. There will be a maximum of 13 rounds of counting for an Assembly constituency.
In the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency, the overall voter turnout, including postal votes, stands at 66.72%. On polling day, the voter turnout was recorded at 65.61%, with a total of 8,23,237 out of 12,54,823 eligible voters casting their ballots. Additionally, 14,040 postal votes were received. As of May 30, a total of 8,37,277 votes had been cast, with 553 ETPBS votes recorded. ETPBS votes will continue to be accepted until 8 a.m. on the day of counting.
In Pathanamthitta, seven counting halls have been arranged at the counting centre in Kendriya Vidyalaya at Chenneerkara. The constituency, which witnessed a close three-way battle between the UDF, LDF, and the NDA, recorded a polling percentage of 63.37% — one of the lowest during the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
According to S. Premkrishnan, Pathanamthitta District Collector, the total number of postal votes in the Pathanamthitta parliamentary constituency is 13,789. Out of 4,256 ballots sent to service voters through ETPBS, 1,977 have been returned so far.
Published - June 01, 2024 07:25 pm IST
