The Election Commission of India led by CEC Shri Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Shri Anup Chandra Pandey and Shri Arun Goel today reviewed the preparations for the counting of votes across 116 Counting Centres in respect of GE to Legislative Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Bye Elections to the 6 Assembly Constituencies and one Parliamentary Constituency.

The Commission from time to time has issued detailed instructions and SOPs related to counting of votes, which shall also be applicable during counting of votes in respect of above mentioned Constituencies.

1. Counting of Votes in respect of General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh & Gujarat in 250 ACs and Bye-election to six Assembly Constituencies, one each in Odisha, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and two in Uttar Pradesh and one Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh is to take place from 8 am onwards on 08.12.2022 (Thursday).
2. One Counting Observer per Assembly Constituency has been deputed in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and above mentioned ACs where bye elections were held. Two Special Observers each in Himachal Pradesh & Gujarat will be on ground to ensure the smooth counting process.
3. Elaborate and fool proof arrangements have been made at all the counting centres. All strong rooms, where polled EVMs are kept, are under three-layered security with inner cordon manned by Central Armed Forces. Provision of 24X7 CCTV coverage of strong room arrangements is available.
4. Political parties/candidates are involved at each stage related to EVM deployment during elections.
5. At each stage, the serial number of each EVM (including polled) is shared with the political parties/candidates.
6. In poll going States, District Administration has imposed section 144 CrPC around the counting halls to ensure that peace and tranquility is not disturbed.
7. Postal ballots received before 8AM on counting day are taken up for counting.
8. The important points related to counting of votes as per SOPs are as follows:

• Counting of votes shall be taken up for postal ballots at 08:00 AM and shall continue till its completion. All existing instructions of counting of ETPBS and Postal Ballots shall be complied with.
• After a gap of 30 minutes from the commencement of counting of postal ballot papers, counting of votes for EVM shall commence at 08:30 AM. EVM counting shall continue irrespective of the stage of postal ballot counting as per ECI instructions dated 18 May 2019.
• After each round of counting, tabulation of results in a prescribed format is done. This is signed by RO and Observer, and a copy will be shared with the candidates. After announcement of round-wise results, counting of next round will be taken up as per extant instructions.
• Postal ballot results will also be shared in the prescribed format after obtaining signatures of candidates’ agents.
• Since 2019, VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations per Assembly Constituency/Segments, are matched with EVM count.
• RO shall make entry of round wise results in ENCORE, which is then displayed on result website of ECI (https://results.eci.gov.in)
• In case the margin of victory is less than the number of Postal Ballot papers rejected as invalid at the time of counting, all the rejected Postal Ballot papers shall be mandatorily re-verified by the RO before declaration of result as per ECI instruction dated 18 May 2019. Whenever such re-verification is done, the entire proceedings should be video graphed as per ECI instructions dated 21 January 2009.

9. Media centres have been set up at each counting location for round-wise dissemination of trends. Media passes have also been issued. Over 6000 authority letters have been issued to the media for entry in counting centres.
10. Only authorized persons shall be allowed entry inside the counting hall.
11. The trends and results will be available after 8.00 AM on 08.12.2022, on  the following mediums apart from all the counting centres for dissemination of information:

1. The results are displayed on the website of the Election Commission of India (https://results.eci.gov.in) and are updated periodically to display the current round wise trends and results of each constituency.

2. The trends and results are also accessible through the “Voter Helpline App” Mobile App available at Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The website/ mobile app will display information as filled by the Returning Officers in the system from the respective Counting Centres. The EC will be displaying the information as being filled by the Returning Officers in the system from their respective Counting Centres.

12. The Commission expects fullest cooperation from all concerned including political parties and candidates for smooth and peaceful completion of counting process.

****

RP