New Delhi, Sep 25 || The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Thursday, its 30th major initiative in the last six months, a new directive aimed at streamlining the vote counting process, particularly for postal ballots.
The move, outlined in a press note, seeks to reduce delays and ensure greater clarity and uniformity during the counting of votes.
The ECI’s decision comes in response to a significant increase in the number of postal ballots, a result of recent initiatives like home voting for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens over 85.
While the counting of postal ballots typically concludes before the counting of votes from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the new measure is designed to formalise this process.
Under the new directive, “The penultimate (second last) round of EVM/VVPATs counting shall be taken up only after the counting of Postal Ballot Papers is completed, at the counting centre, where postal ballot counting is being done”, the ECI said in its press note.