Provide Assured Facilities To Voters: Election Commission of India

GUWAHATI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed all Chief Electoral Officers of States and Union Territories to ensure that the ‘Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) in Polling Stations’ are provided to the voters at the time of poll. The Election Commission of India directive further said that the facilities should be made available by the DEOs (District Electoral Officers).

Among the AMFs are provision for drinking water; adequate furniture; medical kit; proper lighting and electricity arrangements; help desk, toilets, volunteers for the specially abled electors; crèches for children; and provision for transport facility.

The directive further mentioned that the volunteers from NCC/NSS/Scouts and Guides/Chunavi Pathshala should be deployed to manage the voters’ queues, and also to guide the PwDs (persons with disability) electors up to the entrance of polling station. Inside the polling station, such PwD electors shall be assisted by the polling staff.

With regard to provision for transport facility, the ECI directive specifically states that public transport should be made available to the voters suffering from visual and locomotive disabilities and also the infirmed electors. “If public transport is not available, private vehicles should be hired for the purpose,” it added. There are 28,143 polling stations for the Parliamentary elections in Assam.

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