Know the facts about the counting process | Fusion - WeRIndia

The counting process for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections takes place today starting from 8:00 a.m.

Do you know how the counting process takes place?

Here are important facts about the counting process:

• Before commencing the counting process, the Returning Officer and the Assistant Returning Officer will take the oath to maintain the secrecy of voting by reading it aloud.
• The EVMs will be inspected before the commencement of counting in the presence of the Returning Officers.
• Counting agents supervise the counting of votes.
• Contesting candidates are allowed to be present at counting centres along with counting agents or election agents.
• Postal ballot papers will be counted first followed by the EVM counting. The EVM counting will begin by 8:30 a.m.
• If the counting of postal ballot paper has not been finished by that time, the counting of postal ballot and EVM counting will be done in parallel.
• The Returning Officer directs and supervises the counting process.
• In the event of ballot papers being lost or destructed, the Returning Officer will report it to the Election Commission immediately.
• The EC may allow the counting to be completed or order repolling by declaring the poll to be void as per the condition.
• The first round result would be declared by 9:30 a.m. Thereafter each round of counting takes 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
• After finishing the EVM counting, VVPAT counting will take place by selecting five each of Assembly and Lok Sabha randomly.
• The Returning Officer is not allowed to declare the result without counting the VVPPAT slips.
• The counting of VVPAT slips per EVM takes up to one hour. As VVPAT slips of five polling stations are chosen to count, it would take five hours in total.
• In this context, the EC rejects the demand of the opposition parties asking to count VVPAT slips before counting EVMs in applicable polling stations.

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