Polling staff demand vote counting at block, district level

FARIDKOT: After many incidents of violence during the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections held on September 19, many government employees, who were assigned the election duty, have demanded from the District Election Officer to increase their security during vote counting.

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, September 21

After many incidents of violence during the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections held on September 19, many government employees, who were assigned the election duty, have demanded from the District Election Officer to increase their security during vote counting.

Keeping in view the increased threat perceptions and hooliganism, it is better that instead of making votes counting at booth level in the panchayat elections, the counting be done at block or district level, demanded the employees in a memorandum submitted to senior authorities on Friday.

After the allegations of booth-capturing, repoll was held at Gobindgarh village of Jaito subdivision on Friday.

As per the FIR registered on the complaint of polling staff, it is alleged that 10-12 persons barged into polling booth number 34 on September 19 and started stamping the ballot papers to cast votes in an illegal way.

To counter this act, supporters of the other candidate also made forcible entry into the polling booth, thus endangering the security of the polling staff, reads the FIR.

In another incident of violence at a polling booth in Machaki Kalan village of Faridkot, three persons got serious injuries and many other got minor injuries when about one hundred supporters of Akali and Congress candidates indulged in brickbats over the allegations of booth-capturing.

The polling staff saved their lives by locking the room, where the polling booth was established, from inside.

When the situation is tensed up and tempers are frayed during polling, there is an apprehension of it being graver at the time of vote counting at the booth-level in panchayat elections, they said.

So it is preferable that keeping in view the threat to the life of all polling staff, the vote counting be made only at block or district level, demanded the worried employees.

Jaito SDM Dr Mandeep Kaur said the concern of the polling staff would be conveyed to the higher authorities for necessary action.