The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : GHMC polls: 57 lakh to cast vote

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Monday, Nov 23, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

GHMC polls: 57 lakh to cast vote

Special Correspondent

13,347 EVMs pressed into service for polls to 150 divisions spread across 18 circles

Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

All set for elections: Polling officials carrying EVMs to various polling stations from the distribution centre for the GHMC elections, on Sunday. —

HYDERABAD: With just a few hours to go for polling for the first Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls, election authorities claimed to have completed all the necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct.

On Sunday, polling officials and staff went to the distribution centres where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been dispatched and last minute glitches were being sorted out. As many as 13,347 EVMs are being pressed into service for polls to 150 divisions spread across 18 circles.

About 56,99,015 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise of which 29,82,177 are males and 27,16,838 are females.

Motinagar division has the highest number of electors from among all divisions with 92,770 voters while Fateh Darwaza has the lowest with 12,966 voters.

Mammoth exercise

Election officials have also managed to sort out the staff required to conduct the mammoth exercise with 6,794 polling officers and an equal number of assistant polling officers to man the polling stations. Assisting them will be 20,387 other polling staff and 504 zonal officers.

The State Election Commission (SEC) has also drafted 600 micro-observers for the first time to keep a watch on the 1,644 sensitive polling stations where the entire polling process will be videographed. Thirty three other observers, all senior officers, will be looking into the candidates expenditure.

Code of conduct

Meanwhile, the SEC has asserted that violation of the model code of conduct will be enforced strictly and anyone found committing election offences will be dealt with severely on the polling day.

SEC Secretary B. Venkateswara Rao said the police will be vigilant to tackle code violations and violators of law will not be spared under any circumstances.

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