VIJAYAWADA: The counting of votes and declaration of results of ward member elections for Eluru Municipal Corporation will take place July 25 from 8 am.
The election had been held for Eluru municipal corporation along with nine other civic bodies on March 10. Following court cases, the counting was not allowed there along with the counting for other civic bodies on March 14.
Announcing this here on Thursday, the state election commission issued a set of guidelines on safety measures and Covid protocols for counting of votes and declaration of results, also in compliance with the order of the High Court as on May 7.
No public gathering outside the counting venue is allowed during the process of counting and there should be no victory procession after the counting and declaration of results.
The SEC asked the West Godavari collector to appoint a joint collector as nodal officer to ensure the public’s and parties’ adherence to Covid19 norms.
The counting centres will be disinfected before, during and after the counting of votes. No candidate or his/her counting agent shall be allowed inside the counting hall without the negative result of a Rapid Antigen Test or RT-PCR or a record of having taken two doses of Covid19 vaccination.
No one with any symptom of Covid19 like fever or cold shall be allowed to enter the counting hall.
At the entry to the hall/room/premises, thermal scanning of all persons shall be done and sanitizer, soap and water shall be made available at entrance. Mask, sanitizer, face shield and gloves shall be provided to every counting official and security personnel.
Social distancing has to be maintained and seating arrangements of counting personnel and agents must be made as per Covid19 norms.
Sufficient number of PPE kits shall be maintained for the staff. There shall be proper arrangement for disposal of Covid19 related waste.
Not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidates to receive the certificate of election from the returning officer.
