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New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stepped up preparations for the Bihar assembly elections and by-elections in eight assembly constituencies in November by deploying a strong team of central observers to ensure a transparent and level playing field for all political parties and candidates. said in a statement on Sunday.
According to the statement issued by the poll panel, the observers have been appointed under the full powers given to the ECI by Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 20B of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
These observers play a vital role in assisting the Commission in maintaining the integrity of the electoral process and maintaining public confidence in the conduct of elections.
“The Commission has deployed 122 general observers along with 121 general observers and 18 police observers for Phase 1 and 20 police observers for Phase 2 of Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2025,” the ECI said in its statement.
“8 general and 8 police observers have also been deployed in the ongoing by-elections in 8 ACs,” it added.
Soon after their deployment, all the observers completed their initial ground visits to their allotted constituencies and have now taken charge on site to monitor the arrangements.
“The ECI has directed the observers to closely monitor the entire election process and ensure transparent, free and fair conduct of the elections,” it said.
Observers have been asked to be readily available to candidates, political parties and the general public to ensure that any complaints or grievances are resolved promptly.
They will also conduct frequent inspections of polling stations to verify the implementation of recent voter-friendly initiatives of the Commission aimed at enhancing accessibility and convenience for voters.
By maintaining a strong presence in all constituencies, the ECI hopes to prevent malpractices and strengthen public confidence in the electoral practice.
The ECI also said that “observers have also been directed to visit polling stations and ensure implementation of recent initiatives taken by the Commission for the convenience of voters”.
–IANS