EC guidelines for counting centres to be strictly followed in Rajasthan: Official

Jaipur: The latest Election Commission guidelines for counting of votes will be strictly followed at centres in Rajasthan where votes will be counted for by-polls in Rajsamand, Sahada and Sujangarh assembly seats, officials said.

No one will be allowed to enter the counting venue without presenting a double dose vaccine certificate or a negative RT-PCR report, an official statement said here Wednesday.

Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta said he has issued necessary instructions in this regard to the district collectors concerned.

He said that a quarantine center will be established outside the counting venue and health department personnel will also be deployed there.

Besides other facilities, two ventilators, oxygen beds and ambulances will be arranged at the counting venue for any emergency, he said.

All vehicles entering the counting venues would be sanitised, he said.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India issued its latest guidelines for counting of votes on May 2. The guidelines say that no candidates or their agents will not be allowed inside counting halls without a negative coronavirus report or without having both Covid-19 vaccine doses.

Issued amid spiralling coronavirus cases, the guidelines also bar public gatherings outside venues during the counting process, but allow candidates to name a fresh agent if the first one tests positive for Covid-19.

The counting of votes for the assembly by-elections held in Rajsamand, Sujangarh and Sahada will be held on May 2.

The votes were cast on April 17, when 60.37% eligible voters had exercised their franchise.