Special election observers meet SPNOs, others; give directions for free, fair polls
The CEO and his team of senior officials also gave a presentation of the arrangements made so far to the visiting observers
By Sulogna Mehta Published on 7 Nov 2023 7:49 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-appointed special observers held a meeting with State Police Nodal Officers (SPNOs) and nodal officers for commercial tax and excise.
Special observers including Ajay V Naik (retd IAS), Deepak Mishra (retired IPS), and R Bala Krishnan (retired IRS) gave specific directions to all the officers concerned.
The CEO and his team of senior officials also gave a presentation of the arrangements made so far to the visiting observers.
‘Randomize police personnel before posting them in polling stations’
Regarding law and order, the special observers stated that the police personnel deployed for polling stations’ duty have to be randomized before deployment. The SPNO should prepare a list of do’s and don’ts for police personnel on duty at the polling stations.
The special observers suggested that the training should be provided to all video surveillance teams. They should be trained in video-graphing of political programmes with cameras and not mobile phones.
All candidates and election agents must download the cVigil app
Regarding the electoral roll, they clarified that all pending forms (VI) should be disposed of by November 10, 2023. They further advised that all complaints on the electoral roll received in every district must be listed along with the phone number of the complainant and resolution details. Observers need to randomly verify the disposal of complaints by calling the complaints.
They suggested that all Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) should ensure that all candidates and their election agents download the cVigil App on their mobile phones and steps must be taken to advertise the cVigil App, in state editions of newspapers (both English and in local language).
CCTV Outside Polling Stations
The special observers clarified that DEO and CP or SP must jointly prepare a list of polling stations where videography is required. The footage of these CCTV cameras will be made available in the Police Control Room as well.
