VIJAYAWADA: Elaborate arrangements have been made for counting votes in the MPTC and ZPTC elections across Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. The counting will begin at 8 am at 365 counting centres.
State Election Commissioner Anil Chandra Punetha said 9,062 counting tables had been set up across the State. As many as 11,002 counting supervisors and 28,692 counting assistants and other personnel have been deployed for the exercise.
Of the total 659 ZPTC and 9,821 MPTC seats in the State, elections were unanimous in 77 ZPTCs and 2,051 MPTCs. Polling was held on Thursday for the remaining ZPTCs and MPTCs, recording a voter turnout of 70.72%. In the last elections held in 2021, 60.91% voting was recorded.
Repolling was held on Friday at seven polling stations in Anantapur, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Markapuram and Palnadu districts following incidents of booth capturing and damage to ballot boxes. The repolling concluded peacefully, he said.
Postal ballots will be counted first. Half of the counting tables have been allocated to ZPTC votes, and the remaining half to MPTC votes.
Tight security arranged at 365 counting centres in AP
Each table will handle 1,000 ballot papers per round. IG B Raja Kumari said a three-tier security arrangement, involving 19,885 police personnel had been put in place at all 365 counting centres to thwart any untoward incidents.
The deployment includes 135 DSPs and Additional SPs, 572 inspectors, 1,412 sub-inspectors, 14,877 personnel from Additional Sub-Inspector to constable rank and 2,889 Home Guards.
Special surveillance will be maintained in sensitive areas using CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras.
Police personnel will maintain round-the-clock vigil at counting centres, and surrounding areas to prevent law and order problems.