EC set to count out losers in ballot bout

NEW DELHI: As the D-Day, or rather the C-Day (Counting Day), dawns, the Election Commission (EC) has lined up massive arrangements not only to count the votes cast but also to tabulate the data as and when each round of counting is completed, enabling quicker results.

And what���s more, the electoral outcome is set to reach the people faster, with the dedicated ECI website ��� http://eciresults.nic.in ��� putting out authentic trends and results within moments of the counting halls releasing the result sheets. Also, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will be erecting two giant display boards in front of Nirvachan Sadan on May 16 to allow the public an instant look at the poll updates.

The counting logistics for the 2009 Lok Sabha polls are as complex as the polling logistics. The electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be opened and the votes polled counted at a total of 1,080 counting centres with 4,260 counting halls. Each counting centre has one counting hall for each assembly segment, apart from one data centre and one media centre.

Approximately 60,000 counting staff have been engaged to take up the counting exercise. Security arrangements will be tight for counting agents of the candidates who will be at the counting centres to witness the whole procedure, which will also be videographed. There will be a micro-observer watching over the counting process at each table. He/she will conduct random checking of electronic voting machines by recounting of two counted machines after every round.

The tabulated data will be verified by the observers.

After every round of counting, the result sheet from each counting hall shall be sent to data centre and the media centre simultaneously. The data centre will upload the result on the ECI server using a specially-developed software. The trends and results can then be accessed by internet users on a special website with the address http://eciresults.nic.in.

The counting centre will have complete facilities for the media to disseminate the results, include a fax machine and telephone. The mediapersons can also transmit the counting information to their respective bureaus using their own mobile phones.

Journalists will be allowed at suitable intervals inside the counting halls in batches, escorted by a government officer. They can take photographs of the counting hall and the proceedings there during the escorted tour. However, they will not be allowed to carry cellphones when inside the counting halls.