Covid sick to be allowed voting in Kerala assembly election on the lines of civic poll

Teekaram Meena
State Chief Electoral Officer Teekaram Meena has announced that facilities will be made for COVID-19 patients to cast their votes during the upcoming Assembly elections along the lines of local body polls.

Thiruvananthapuram: COVID-19 patients would not miss out on their franchise during the Kerala Assembly Election this summer. The state health department has been ordered to make a detailed plan of action to facilitate voting by the sick.

State Chief Electoral Officer Teekaram Meena has announced that facilities will be made for COVID-19 patients to cast their votes during the upcoming Assembly elections along the lines of local body polls. They would be given the option for postal ballots or permission to arrive at the polling booths in PPE kits.

People aged above 80 and the differently abled can also choose postal ballots.

To register for postal votes, voters will have to send in an application with their full address to their respective returning officers within five days of the poll notification.

The details about distribution and collection of postal votes would be notified later, Meena said.

The Election Commission has issued the COVID-19 protocol for the state election and guidelines over postal ballots.

The health department has been instructed to prepare an action plan, as per the Commission's guidelines, and to appoint a state nodal officer. The district medical officers will be the nodal officers in each district. Also, nodal officers should be deployed till the booth-level in each constituency. And nodal officers should be given duty in each polling location. The health department has been directed to make a detailed plan, by including these instructions, within a week.

The Chief Electoral Officer held talks with Principal Secretary (Health) Dr Rajan N Khobragade, among others in this regard.

 

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