Kannur to have 1,279 additional poll booths

As many as 3,137 polling booths will be set up in Kannur for the upcoming Assembly elections. There were 1,858 booths in the last Assembly polls. An additional 1,279 booths will be set up this time as per the Central Election Commission’s recommendation to divide the booths with more than a thousand voters in the wake of the pandemic situation, District Collector T.V. Subhash has said.

Each booth will have five polling officials. With the addition of 1,279 booths, 20,000 officials will have to be deployed for polling duty alone, including 20 per cent reserve staff. In addition, more officers will have to deployed for the distribution of special postal ballots.

The Collector directed officials concerned to ensure that all the booths in the district have basic facilities like water, electricity, furniture, toilets and ramps, and to inspect them immediately and take necessary steps.

The district will have three counting centres to reduce crowding of people. The centres will be at the Chinmaya Institute at Chalai and Taliparamba Sir Syed Higher Secondary School.

The Collector said three categories of voters would be able to cast their votes by special post. They are Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), voters who are 80-plus, COVID patients and those in quarantine. Only those who apply for the facility will get the opportunity to cast postal votes. Special officers will be appointed to receive their applications.