Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has urged the Assam State Election Commissioner to take necessary measures to ensure a free, fair, and transparent counting of votes for the panchayat poll.
APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah, along with a delegation, met State Election Commissioner Alok Kumar and submitted a memorandum expressing concerns regarding the counting process.
Borah stated, “Today, we met the Election Commissioner regarding the counting process for the Panchayat elections scheduled for May 11. We submitted a memorandum outlining our concerns and apprehensions. During the meeting, we emphasized the need for a free, fair, and transparent counting of votes to uphold the democratic mandate.”
The memorandum read, “You are no doubt aware that in many parts of Assam, during the second phase of polling for the Panchayat Elections held on May 7, ruling party goons, often aided by local police, entered polling booths and attempted booth capturing or forcibly stamped snatched ballot papers. In view of these incidents, we now have reason to believe that in certain vulnerable districts such as Nagaon, Morigaon, Dhubri, Darrang, and Sonitpur, the ruling party goons may try to infiltrate the counting halls and attempt to disrupt, intimidate, and bully counting officials with the intent to manipulate the election results in their favour on May 11.”
The memorandum further stated, “In light of the above, we request the deployment of adequate central forces in vulnerable counting locations. The District Returning Officers and other officials involved in the counting process should be adequately forewarned to strictly maintain impartial and transparent counting protocols. Any dereliction of duty must be dealt with stern action by the Election Commission.”
The Congress also requested the Commissioner to ensure the installation of CCTV cameras in all counting halls on May 11.
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