Election rules tweaked: Now those on poll duty to cast postal ballots at facilitation centres only

PTI, Oct 9, 2023, 6:16 PM IST

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New Delhi: Polling personnel in the five election-bound states will have to cast their votes at designated facilitation centres only and cannot keep the ballot papers with them for long.

Election rules were recently changed by the government on the recommendation of the Election Commission with an aim to check the potential misuse of the postal ballot facility extended to voters on poll duty.

Addressing a press conference here to announce the schedule for assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said voters using postal ballots are becoming a force and an interest group.

“We will not call it a misuse of postal ballot. But if government servants using postal ballot facility start a bargain — they have their interests — that was not legitimate,” he said.

The poll panel had in September last year recommended to the Union law ministry to tweak the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 to ensure that voters on poll duty cast their votes at voter facilitation centres located where they are deployed.

The EC was of the view that if a postal ballot remains with a voter for a long time, the person could be highly susceptible to undue influence, threats, bribery and other unethical means by candidates or political parties.

Recently, the Legislative Department in the law ministry has come out with a notification amending the Conduct of Election Rules.

A new section 18A has been added in the rules. It states that “notwithstanding anything in this Part, a voter on election duty shall receive his postal ballot, record his vote thereon in accordance with this Part and return the same at the facilitation centre as specified, in writing, by the returning officer.”

With the amendment coming into force on August 23, voters on poll duty in the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, to be held between November 7 and 30, will now vote at the facilitation centres.

Single-phase assembly polls will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, Telangana on November 30 and Mizoram on November 7 while Chhattisgarh will go to the polls in two phases on November 7 (20 seats) and 17 (70 seats).

Official sources had earlier said the poll panel had observed in the previous elections that the voters on election duty who are provided postal ballots do not cast their votes at voter facilitation centres but take their postal ballots with them since they have time to cast postal ballot till 8 am of the counting day according to election law and relevant rules.

The standard policy of the commission provides that the voters on election duty are deployed to a constituency other than their home constituency to manage and supervise polling at the allotted polling stations.

Owing to this arrangement they are not able to cast votes at their home polling station in person.

According to the current scheme, the voters on election duty apply for postal ballots to the returning officer concerned at the time of their training, who after due diligence, issues the postal ballots at the training centre during subsequent round of training.

A facilitation centre is also set up to enable such voters on election duty to cast their votes at the facility before they are dispatched for the allotted polling stations for election duty.

The facilitation centre is equipped with all necessary arrangements for ensuring secret and transparent voting in presence of candidates or their representatives.

However, they also have the option to send their postal ballots through post to the returning officer so as to reach before the hour fixed for the commencement of counting — 8 am of the counting day.

Many such voters keep postal ballots at their homes for long time after performing poll duty, as elections are normally held in staggered manner in order to manage logistics and requirement of forces.

For instance, in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the first phase of poll was held on April 11, 2019 while the date of counting of votes was on May 23.

“Thus, ensuring voting at the Voter Facilitation Centre set up for voters on election duty would minimize the potential misuse of postal ballot facility for free, fair and transparent elections,” a functionary explained.