EC overhauls way to count postal ballots

The Election Commission of India, which claims to have taken 29 significant initiatives in the past six months for streamlining and improving the electoral process, on Thursday announced that it has also made changes to the process of counting of Postal Ballots to reduce delays and enhance clarity as its 30th initiative.

- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

The poll panel said it has decided that from now on the penultimate or second last round of EVM/VVPATs counting would be taken up only after the counting of Postal Ballot papers has been completed at the counting centre where they are taken up from counting. It claimed that this would “ensure uniformity and utmost clarity in the counting process”.