THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the inclusion of postal ballots of service voters, the state’s overall polling percentage has risen marginally to 79.70% from 79.63%, Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar said at a press meet here on Sunday.
Of the 53,984 postal ballots distributed, 20,028 completed ballots have been received so far, accounting for 0.37% of the total electorate. Kelkar said the final figures will be published by the Election Commission of India (ECI) within 48 hours of completion of the counting process.
Service voters are allowed to submit postal ballots before the counting. Kelkar said arrangements had been made with the postal department to ensure timely receipt of these ballots, including on holidays. He added that district election officials have been instructed not to rush the counting of postal ballots.
A total of 15,465 personnel will oversee the counting process, having undergone both in-person and online training. As many as 32,301 police personnel, including 20 companies of CAPF, have been deployed across the state to ensure smooth conduct of counting.
Strongrooms will be opened at 7am on Monday in the presence of candidates or their authorised agents, observers and videography teams. Counting will begin at 8am, with postal ballots taken up first, followed by EVM counting from around 8.30am.
The final results are expected by around 5pm. The Model Code of Conduct will remain in force for 48 hours from the completion of counting or until it is lifted by the ECI.