Forward of the Bihar Meeting elections later this yr, the Election Fee on Monday advised chief electoral officers (CEOs) of all states and UTs to conduct webcasting — reside video recording and monitoring — of polling day actions for 100% of polling stations, growing it from the sooner directions of fifty%.
An EC official stated this is able to be relevant to the Bihar polls, that are anticipated in October or November. Within the directions to CEOs on Monday, the EC wrote that the Fee had deployed a number of “civil (non-force) measures” to regulate the totally different phases of the election course of, together with utilizing webcasting on ballot day.
“Now…it has been determined that webcasting shall be finished in all polling stations i.e. 100% of polling stations having web connectivity. Nevertheless, in shadow areas, appropriate different preparations of videography, pictures and so on. could also be made,” the EC directions learn.
The EC’s directions come at a time when Chief of Opposition within the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been demanding that the EC launch the CCTV footage of ballot day in Maharashtra. Earlier this month, he alleged that there was “match-fixing” within the 2024 Maharashtra polls and requested that the EC launch the video footage of polling after 5pm.
The video feeds from polling stations are available in at management rooms on the state, district and Meeting constituency-level. Workers is deployed right here to observe the reside footage and in the event that they see any violations or suspicious exercise, they’re meant to tell the presiding officer, sector officer, returning officer, district election officer (DEO) or EC-appointed observer.
As per the directions, the cameras are usually not meant to face the poll unit and VVPAT so the secrecy of the vote may be maintained. They’re, nevertheless, meant to see any violations, together with if every other voter or official enters the voting compartment whereas a voter is casting his or her vote, if the ballot course of is halted or delayed for any purpose, and if there may be any unauthorised particular person within the polling station.
Thus far, within the LS elections final yr and until the most-recent Meeting polls in Delhi in 2025, the EC has mandated “minimal 50% webcasting” of all polling stations and 100% webcasting of all recognized vital polling stations.