Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The first phase of the three-tier panchayat elections in Odisha is set to begin on Wednesday, with strict security measures and Covid-19 protocol in place.
Over 67.51 lakh voters are eligible to vote during the panchayat polls, according to Odisha’s State Election Commission (SEC). As many as 22,379 booths have been set up to elect 200 Zilla Parishad members, sarpanches, Panchayat Samiti members, and ward members.
Voting will take place between 7 am and 1 pm. Voters have been directed to wear masks and maintain social distance while waiting in line to cast their vote, Odisha’s SEC said on Tuesday. Coronavirus patients will be allowed to cast their votes during the last hour of polling.
Voting for 853 zilla parishad seats, 91,916 wards and 6,794 gram panchayats will be held in five phases on February 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24. The first phase will cover 200 zilla parishad seats, 1,669 sarpanch posts, 1,669 samiti member seats and 22,379 ward member posts in 71 blocks of 30 districts.
To ensure that the elections are conducted smoothly, 225 security personnel, including 37,245 policemen, have been deployed, SEC Aditya Prasad Padhi told PTI. At 3,357 polling booths, identified as ‘sensitive’, CCTV cameras have been installed.
According to the SEC, centralised counting of the votes will commence on February 26.
Special security measures have been enforced in Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Balangir, Rayagada, and Kandhamal districts, where Maoists have called for a boycott of the panchayat polls.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
