VIJAYAWADA: Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Krishna Dwivedi has said that all the necessary arrangements are being made for the smooth conduct of counting of votes in the State on May 23. Counting will be held at 55 centres in 34 places across the State. About 25,000 staff will take part in counting.
During an interaction with mediapersons at the Interim Government Complex in Velagapudi on Monday, the CEO said that EVM votes will be counted first and later Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips counting will be taken up. If EVMs encounter any technical glitches, counting of VVPAT slips will be taken up first.
For counting of VVPAT slips, five VVPATs will be selected randomly from each Assembly constituency. If there is any discrepancy, the slips will be counted for the second time. The number of votes counted on VVPATs will stand in case of any mismatch with that of respective EVM. The Returning Officer of the respective constituency will take a final call on recounting of votes in case the victory margin is very less, the CEO said.
The CEO clarified that counting agents will be allowed to take Form-17C, which was given on the day of polling to the agents of contestants, inside the counting hall. The number of counting agents permitted should be equal to that of tables set up for counting, whether it is for EVM vote counting, postal ballot counting or ETPBS counting. Arrangements will be made for supply of food to candidates and agents. Candidates will be allowed to bring food packets prepared outside, he added.