The Election Commission on Friday issued guidelines for holding elections and for the voting process amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks have been made mandatory for all voters and they will be provided with gloves to press the EVM button. The gloves will most likely be disposable.
Thermal scanners would be placed at the entry point of every polling station. Polling or paramedical staff will conduct thermal screening of voters at the entry point of a polling station, the Election Commission said.
Face masks in reserves will be kept for those electors who are not carrying the mask will be kept. During the process of identification, the voters will be required to lower the facemask for identification, when required. At any given time, only one voter shall be allowed to stand in front of each polling official maintaining social distance.
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.
A separate set of guidelines would be issued for voters who are residing in areas notified as containment zones, the Election Commission said. The commission has recommended mandatory sanitisation of polling stations, preferably a day before the polls.
"There shall be maximum 1,000 electors instead of 1,500 electors in a polling station," the guidelines said.
The option of the postal ballot facility has been extended to the electors who are marked as persons with disabilities, electors above the age of 80 years, electors employed in notified essential services and electors who are COVID- 19 positive or are suspected to have and in quarantine (home/ institutional). Guidelines for each of these categories are being issued separately.
A group of five people, including candidates but excluding security personnel, is allowed to take part in door-to-door campaigning. For roadshows, the commission said, convoys of vehicles should be broken after every five vehicles instead of 10 (excluding security vehicles).
Public gatherings and rallies can be held subject to adherence to COVID-19 guidelines. The district election officer should identify in advance dedicated grounds for public gatherings with clearly marked entry and exit points.
In all such identified grounds, the district election officer should put markers in advance to ensure social distancing norms are followed by the attendees.
The district election officer and district superintendent of police should ensure that the number of attendees does not exceed the limit prescribed by the State Disaster Management Authority for public gatherings, the commission said.
The Election commission has said that not more than seven counting tables should be allowed in a counting hall. Hence, counting of votes of a constituency may be considered at three to four halls by appointing additional assistant Returning Officers.
Carrying cases of CUs/VVPATs should be sanitized before placing over counting tables.
Display of result from the Control Units may be displayed on a large screen to avoid accommodation of a large number of counting agents.
The counting centers shall be disinfected before, during and after the counting.
Bihar will be the first state where assembly elections will be held amid the pandemic. The polls are likely to be held sometime in October-November.
With PTI inputs