LS election: EC gears up for counting in State

SHILLONG: With less than six days left for the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha election held in the state on April 11, the Election Commission is all geared up to ensure that the process is carried out smoothly.
The Election Commission has instructed that the State Election Commission will have to match EVM results with voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) of five polling stations per assembly constituency, Accordingly, the exercise has to be conducted in 300 polling stations across the state.
In addition, the deputy commissioners have also been directed to draw in experienced officers, including cashiers, for the counting.
Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor informed that for the first time, a Model Counting Hall has been set up to simulate the counting process. While one part of it will be the actual counting hall for EVM and VVPAT matching, the other is for counting electronically transmitted postal ballot.
At present, five companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are guarding the counting centres in the state, Kharkongor informed adding that on the day of counting there will be three-tier security cover.
The inner most cordon will consist of the CAPF while the second and outer most cordons will comprise the state armed police and the district armed police respectively, the chief electoral officer said.