Krishna Kunal, General Observer for Udupi-Chikkamagaluru parliamentary constituency, said on Wednesday that election micro-observers should discharge their duties with responsibility as they had to send their reports directly to the Election Commission.
He was speaking at a training programme for the micro-observers at the District Offices Complex Auditorium, here. Mr. Kunal said that micro-observers should understand the complete process of polling and know the details of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. They should deal with any untoward incident in the polling booth or any snag in the EVMs as per the norms of the Election Commission.
They should reach the polling booths the day before the polling along with other polling staff.
On voting day, they should inspect the mock polling at 6 a.m. at the booths.
The number of polling agents in the polling booth should be according to the stipulated norms.
On the polling day, the micro-observers should send information to him about voting percentage, any snag in the EVMs, the visit of sector officers and police officers to the booth at noon, 3 p.m., and after the polling to him through WhatsApp. They should also inform him if any persons entered the booth illegally or if there was any problem during the voting, he said.
The voter’s slip should not be considered as a document for voting. Instead, they should consider only the 11 documents permitted by the Election Commission, Mr. Kunal said.
Vidya Kumari, Additional Deputy Commissioner, spoke about the duties and responsibilities of micro observers.
Hephsiba Rani Korlapati, Deputy Commissioner, was present.
A demonstration of the working of the EVMs and VVPATs was also held on the occasion.