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New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) The stage is set for an important day in Bihar as counting of votes for the assembly elections will begin on Friday. With elaborate arrangements and strict protocols in place to ensure transparency, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is all set to deliver a smooth and reliable vote counting process across the state.
Counting of votes will take place in all 243 assembly constituencies of the state.
According to officials, 243 returning officers (ROs) will monitor the process with the help of 243 counting observers, in the presence of contesting candidates and their authorized agents.
A total of 4,372 counting tables have been set up, each with a counting observer, assistant and micro-observer deployed.
Over 18,000 counting agents appointed by the candidates will monitor the counting process to ensure fairness and transparency.
Counting of votes will begin at 8:00 am with postal ballots, followed by electronic voting machines (EVMs) at 8:30 am.
The ECI has directed that the counting of postal ballots should be completed before the final round of EVM counting.
During the counting process of EVMs, the control units will be presented to the counting agents to verify the seals and matching serial numbers recorded in Form 17C (Part I).
The number of votes recorded in the EVMs will be cross-checked with the Form 17C entries, and in case of any discrepancy, the VVPAT slips from the respective polling station will be mandatorily counted.
After the counting of EVMs is completed, five polling stations per constituency will be randomly selected for VVPAT verification.
The slips will be matched with the EVM results in the presence of the candidates and their counting agents.
The final results will be compiled and released round-wise and constituency-wise by the respective ROs.
The official results will be available on the ECI results portal – https://results.eci.gov.in.
The Commission has advised the public and media to rely only on the official ECI portal for accurate and verified updates while cautioning against misinformation from unofficial sources.
TV channels and digital media platforms have also been cautioned to ensure accuracy in reporting.
–IANS
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