Protest against unsecure handling of postal votes

KOCHI: Congress workers of Kunnukkara panchayat in Kalamassery assembly constituency on Saturday staged a protest alleging the postal ballot papers collected from absentee postal voters from their residences were not kept securely. 

Congress block vice president M A Sudheer said election officials were seen keeping the ballot papers in a bag instead of sealed ballot box. “The absentee postal voting for people aged 80 and those with physical disabilities is on in many booths.

Officials should keep the ballot papers in a sealed ballot box. But at a booth in Kuthipuzha, where there are nearly 85 absentee postal votes, we saw officials keeping the ballot papers in a bag,” Sudheer said.

“As per rules, a team of election officials, which includes a policeman and a videographer, visits the applicant of absentee postal voting and hands over the ballot paper to the voter after verifying the identification records.

After casting the vote, the voter returns the paper in a sealed cover provided along with the ballot paper. The team keep such ballots in safe custody and hand them over to the returning officer,” said an election officer, who is in charge of overseeing the absentee postal voting in the area.