New Delhi, April 27
The Election Commission on Tuesday issued an order banning all kinds of victory celebrations and processions on and after May 2, the day the counting of votes will take place for the assembly elections in the four states and Union Territory (UT) of Puducherry.
The Commission in its order said, “In view of the surge in COVID-19 cases throughout the country, it has decided to make more stringent provision to be followed during the process of counting, in addition to exiting Broad Guidelines issued earlier in August, 2020.”
Noting that no victory procession after the counting on May 2, 2921 “shall be permissible”, the poll panel in its direction to all the Chief Electoral Officers said, “Not more than two persons shall be allowed to accompany the winning candidate or his/her authorised representative receive the certificate of election from the Returning Officer (RO) concerned.”
It also said that the order concerning the ban on victory procession “should be brought to notice of all concerned”.
The counting of votes will be held in the states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala and the UT of Puducherry on May 2.
The Madras High Court on Monday came down hard on the Election Commission and called it the “the most irresponsible institution” for the alleged spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
In stinging remarks, the court said EC officials may be booked under murder charges too.
The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observation on a public interest writ, seeking for a direction to authorities to ensure fair counting of votes on May 2 in Karur by taking effective steps and proper arrangements with Covid-19 protocols.
Judges had also orally warned that they would not hesitate in stopping counting of votes on May 2.
