EC issues detailed guidelines for conduct of elections amid covid-19
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday issued detailed guidelines for conducting elections during the covid-19 pandemic with special focus on social distancing and access to sanitization measure for voters and polling officials.
The norms also include larger public spaces for election-related activities, allowing more online intervention, reducing the number of people in the nomination process and stricter campaigning measure.
The move comes just a few months ahead of the scheduled assembly elections in Bihar where a number of political parties, specially from opposition, have raised concerns over holding of polls and the need for ensuring precautions to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The new guidelines make it compulsory for every person to wear face mask during all election related activities. Thermal scanning, access to sanitizers for all, taking a part of nomination process online, option for depositing security money online, restricting door to door campaigning to five persons, road shows in smaller convoys and abiding by covid-19 guidelines for holding campaign related public meetings, are some of the other key features of the norms.
“For the first time, the candidates will have the option to deposit security amount for contesting the elections online. Keeping the containment guidelines in view, the Commission has limited the number of persons including candidate for door to door campaign to five. Public meeting and road shows shall be permissible with suitable instructions subject to containment instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)/State," EC said in a press note on Friday.
For campaigning, EC has directed district authorities to identify dedicated grounds for public meetings and ensure markers for social distancing, and breaking convoy after every fifth vehicle in road shows among others. “The political parties and candidates concerned should ensure that all COVID-19 related requirement like face masks, sanitizers, thermal scanning etc. are fulfilled during each of these activities," the guidelines read.
District authorities will be directed to ensure that sector health regulators are deputed to oversee public meetings and any non-compliance of the instructions would be seen as a violation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 along with attracting legal action under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The eight-page detailed guideline document released on Friday includes 15 pointers like counting of votes, strong room arrangement, polling station arrangement, campaign, nomination process among others. It said a maximum of 7 counting tables should be allowed in a counting hall so each constituency may consider three-four counting halls by appointing additional assistant returning officers for this purpose.
“COVID-19 patients who are quarantined will be allowed to cast their vote at the last hour of the poll day at their respective Polling Stations, under the supervision of health authorities, strictly following COVID-19 related preventive measures. Sector Magistrates shall coordinate this in their allocated polling stations," the detailed guidelines read.
In its earlier guidelines, EC had said that a maximum of 1,000 voters should be allowed in a polling station instead of the previous norm of 1500 voters. With EC’s new guidelines in place, chief electoral officers of concerned states or union territories will make a comprehensive state, district and assembly constituency level election plans keeping in mind local factors.