Counting process robust and codified, says Election Commission, rejects Oppn charge

NEW DELHI: Chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday dismissed the Opposition’s, particularly Congress’s, repeated concerns, expressed through social media, about the polling officials not following the stated electoral process as rumour mongering. Kumar reiterated that the entire electoral process, including the counting process, are “robust” and “codified” in the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s manuals, which are publicly available. He said that the entire process happens under the oversight of 7-8 million people and thus is a foolproof system.
“Counting and the entire election process have a very robust system. We don’t think such a robust system is possible in any other place where everything that is to happen tomorrow has been decided to the minute. The process for counting is also codified. There are 10.5 lakh booths. Each hall has 14 tables. Behind each table, there are polling personnel on one side and the candidates’ polling [counting] agents on the other side. There are more than 8,000 parliamentary candidates. If we assume there are three polling agents per booth, there are about 30-35 lakh polling agents in the country. That means that there are about 30-35 lakh Form 17Cs in their hands. There are micro-observers and observers there. This entire process is happening between 70-80 lakh people. There is no way systemic mistakes can be made in the process. It works with clockwork efficiency. … The system is foolproof but there can be human errors which can happen anywhere. But we want to firmly say that the entire counting process is absolutely robust,” he said.
Without naming any politicians, Kumar addressed concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks.
Referring to Kapil Sibal’s press conference on May 26, where he gave the checklist on counting, Kumar said, “The process that was highlighted came from our manuals only.” “We want the polling agents to verify the entire process because the more they participate, the more their trust in the democratic process will grow,” Kumar said.
Referring to Congress leader Ajay Maken’s tweet about counting agents being forbidden from sitting at the ARO’s table, Kumar dismissed it as a rumour. “We had to get it countered. Any rumour takes a life of its own,” he said. “We clarified that counting agents are allowed at every ARO’s table,” he said.
Kumar also alluded to Jairam Ramesh’s tweet about Amit Shah’s influence on district magistrates and collectors, who act as returning officers during the elections. “Then a rumour was spawned that ROs had been influenced in large numbers. How can that happen in the country? The people who have been working in this intense heat for the last three months, how can someone influence 500-900 people across the country? If someone can do that, tell us. We will punish that person. Tell us before the counting so that we can punish the DM who did it. You can’t spread rumours and cast doubt upon everybody.”
Kumar also addressed the issues raised by the INDIA bloc in an in-person meeting on June 2. “We accepted all of them,” he said. He explained that all the demands are standard practice outlined in their manuals. “This robust process has been going on for 70 years under the eyes of lakhs and lakhs of persons drawn from different places. We have directed all ROs and AROS via video conferencing … that [everything must be done according to the manuals],” he said. “We have trained all CEOs (chief electoral officers), ROs, political parties; we have even trained people at district level,” he said.
An hour after the conference, the ECI also sent a letter to Ramesh, rejecting his request for a week’s extension to file evidence of his tweet, and directed him to submit a response by 7pm on Monday.
Kumar, reiterating EC’s response to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s letter to INDIA bloc, also said that thus far the EC has not received a single complaint from any candidate, polling agent, or those in the polling stations.