EC to hold booth-level peace meetings in Tripura ahead of vote counting

The Election Commission has decided to hold booth-level ”peace meetings” in Tripura as part of its efforts to ensure no untoward incident takes place anywhere in the state during and after the vote-counting process, said Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Gitte Kirankumar Dinakarrao.

Counting for the 60-member Assembly is scheduled to take place across 21 venues on March 2.

”We were able to conduct the polling process without disturbance on February 16, with the state registering a high voting percentage. Our next mission is to ensure that peace prevails in the state on the day of counting,” he said at a press meet on Saturday.

The booth-level peace meetings are scheduled to be held on February 27 and 28, Dinakarrao stated, urging all political parties, eminent citizens and professionals to participate. ”Political parties need to exercise restraint after the results are declared. I hope that our apprehension of peace disruption (on the day of counting) falls flat,” he said.

Noting that there has been no cause for concern in the state for the past six days, the CEO said there will be a three-tier security layer at all the counting halls of the state.

”The state police will guard the first layer, the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) will man the second, and central forces have been deployed for the final layer. Additionally, CCTVs have been installed for round-the-clock surveillance inside all the 21 counting halls,” he said.

The Election Commission has appointed 60 observers for supervising the process in all constituencies. Besides, there will also be micro observers to oversee the state of affairs. At least 21 people were arrested in 18 incidents of violence in Tripura in a span of two days since February 16, when the state went to polls.

Tripura recorded 89.95 per cent voter turnout this time.