Coimbatore: Teachers have demanded election officials to take necessary steps to ensure 100% voting of the government staff on election duty, as many of them could not cast their votes because of various reasons in the previous election. They also requested the staff to get signature from the gazette officer at the training centre and deposit the postal ballot paper in a sealed envelop at the centre itself.
S Arunan, president, Tamil Nadu Government Employees and Teachers’ Welfare Association, said many of their votes were rejected in the previous election for not obtaining signature from the gazette officer. “To avoid this, we have requested the staff to obtain signature from the officer at the training centre and not to bring the ballots outside. This will help avoid unwanted complications, including political influence.”
Pointing out that many of them were not communicated about the availability of postal ballots during the last election training session on March 26, a teacher, who didn’t want to be identified, said it was the responsibility of election officials to ensure 100% voting of the staff on poll duty. “In the next training session on Saturday, they should distribute postal ballots to all the staff.”
The teachers also demanded the Election Commission to declare holiday on Wednesday, as they would be working till late night on Tuesday, when the state goes to poll. “It will be too hectic for us to work without proper rest.”