Thiruvananthapuram: Some poll officials in the state have reportedly received postal ballots again. Those who cast postal votes at the centres in the respective constituencies from April 1 to 3 have started receiving ballots at their home and office addresses again.
If they vote again, there is no way to detect the duplication. Postal ballots received till 8 am on May 2, counting day, would be accepted.
Several officials in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Kannur districts received the second ballots from Wednesday. There are around 3.5 lakh poll officials in the state.
Those who voted at special centres should be marked as 'PB' (for postal ballots) in the voters’ list. The postal ballots had to be sent by checking this to exclude those who have already cast their votes. However, the latest incidents reveal there has been a glitch in this.
Also, the district in which an officer works and the district on the voters' list could be different. This could be one reason that led to the error. It is also not clear whether there was any glitch in sending the postal ballots, that were polled in the district where they worked, to the parent district.
The votes cast at the special centres have been stored in the strong rooms by the respective returning officers. Even if votes are cast through the ballots received now and sent, it would reach the returning officers. It would be difficult to check each ballot and find any duplication.
The Election Commission is yet to reveal how many people cast votes at special centres, adding to the problem.
Cong wants Kerala CEO to look into postal ballot issue
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Friday asked the Chief Electoral officer (CEO) T.R. Meena to ensure that transparency was maintained with regards to the postal ballots after complaints of improper handling had surfaced.
Kerala had voted on April 6 to elect 140 MLAs and the votes would be counted on May 2.
Chennithala said to the media here that he has already spoken to Meena and has also sent a detailed letter.
"It has come to our notice that there have been grave errors on the part of the officials who have been handling the postal votes. Around 3 lakh postal votes have been cast by those people who were engaged in poll duty," said Chennithala.
"Those people who were on poll duty were asked to vote at certain centres and the complaint is some of them also received postal ballots. This means there is going to be duplicate votes. We have asked Meena to ensure that there is no duplication and necessary action should be taken against the erring officials," said Chennithala.
Another complaint that he has taken up is with regards to the errors that have cropped up in the facility provided to those aged above 80. These elderly voters were given the facility to vote at their homes with officials arriving at their homes.
"It has come to our notice that these votes that were taken from the people from their homes were not kept in the ballot boxes but in plastic carry bags. We have asked Meena to ensure that there are no chances of any misappropriation," said Chennithala.
