As votes for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections will be counted on Monday, the Election Commission (EC) said on Saturday that a three-tier security system will be in place at counting centres, with around 100,000 security personnel deployed for election security duties. In Chennai alone, police said nearly 20,000 security staff have been deployed.
Chief electoral officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik, said that the first tier security perimeter extending 100 metres around each counting centre has been established. “Entry within this zone will be strictly restricted to authorised personnel. Adequate police personnel will be deployed at entry points,” she added.
The second tier, comprising the entry gates of the counting premises will be secured by the State Armed Police Personnel, who would regulate access and prevent unauthorised movement within the premises. “Use of mobile phones and other communication devices will be permitted only in designated areas,” she said.
The third-tier, the innermost security layer in the counting halls and the electronic voting machine (EVM) strong rooms will be managed by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel.
65 companies of the CAPF have been deployed at the counting centres, she said.
The EC, as a first-time initiative introduced a QR code-based photo identity card system through its mobile application ECINET to prevent any unauthorised entry into the counting centres.
“The counting of votes recorded in all 75,064 polling stations and postal ballots received will be conducted at 62 designated counting centres,” she said. Counting will start at 8am with the postal ballots, followed by EVM counting in 234 halls at 8.30am, and 3,324 counting tables will be used.
“A total of 10,545 personnel have been deployed for counting duty, supported by 4,624 micro-observers to ensure transparency and integrity of the process,” she said.
Round-wise results of all assembly constituencies will be announced by the concerned returning officer (RO), using the public address system at the respective centre, and the same will be reflected in the ECINET app.
“The results can also be viewed on the portal results.eci.gov.in”, she added.
Tamil Nadu assembly elections were held on April 23.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) which leads the Secular Progressive Alliance comprising Congress and Left parties, is seeking to retain power, while the AIADMK-led National Democratic Alliance is aiming to return to power with its allies, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) among others.
Actor-politician Vijay ‘s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has made its poll debut in this election.
