Hyderabad: The counting of the 2nd Ordinary Elections to Municipalities and Municipal Corporations will be held on Friday.The counting process will begin at 8 am, starting with postal ballots, followed by regular ballot papers, one ward after another.“All adequate security arrangements were made to maintain peace and order. Section 163 of BNSS will be in force in and around counting centres,” a release from the State Election Commission read.Webcasting arrangements were made in all the counting centres and outside strong rooms in all districts. Only the counting supervisors, counting assistants, candidates and their election agents, and counting agents will be allowed inside the counting hall.Counting processBallot papers of the polling station are bundled in sets of 25, and if leftover ballots are fewer than 25, they are made into a separate bundle and labelled with the count.Details will be recorded, and the bundles of all polling stations of the ward will be placed in a drum and thoroughly mixed.In each round, 1,000 ballots (40 bundles × 25 ballots) are randomly taken from the drum and sent to each counting table.Wooden trays with compartments are used for each contesting candidate, NOTA, and doubtful votes.Ballots are examined one by one for validity, and each ballot is shown to counting agents, and valid votes are placed candidate-wise.Valid votes for each candidate are bundled in 100s. Likewise, doubtful votes and NOTA votes are also bundled in 100s.Remaining votes (fewer than 100) are bundled separately with a slip noting the count.Candidate-wise totals and doubtful votes are recorded in the counting sheet and signed by the counting supervisor.The same process continues until all ballots of the ward are counted and all doubtful votes (round-wise, table-wise) are decided by the RO.Round-wise candidate votes and rejected votes are entered in the Final Result Sheet and agents’ signatures are obtained after each round, and the results will be declared.Results will be declared and certificates will be issued after completion of counting and due verification. MSID:: 128261589 413 |
