The Election Commission has reversed its 2019 rule, making it mandatory that postal ballots must be counted before the final EVM rounds to ensure transparency and fairness.
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NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reversed its 2019 decision and announced a major change in the vote-counting process. On Thursday, the Commission issued new instructions to ensure that EVM tallying will only be completed after all postal ballots have been counted.
The ECI’s revised guidelines state:
“The penultimate (second last) round of EVM/VVPATs counting shall not be taken up until the counting of postal ballot papers is completed at the counting centre.”
This decision applies across all States and Union Territories and is being seen as a move to restore confidence in the electoral process.
The Commission clarified that the step was taken “to further streamline the counting process and to provide necessary clarity to the counting of postal ballots”.
- Opposition parties’ concerns: For years, Opposition parties have raised fears that a close election could be influenced by last-minute decisions on whether postal ballots are rejected or held valid.
- Rule 54A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961: The INDIA bloc, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, reminded the EC that the law mandates that postal ballots must be dealt with first.
“The returning officer shall first deal with the postal ballot papers in the manner hereinafter provided.”
- Demand by parties: Recently, the DMK raised the issue during a meeting with the poll panel on July 17, pressing for a return to the earlier system.
Until 2019, the EC followed the practice of withholding the penultimate round of EVM counting until all postal ballots were tallied. However, on May 18, 2019, the EC modified the procedure, allowing EVM counting to continue regardless of the stage of postal ballot counting.
The 2019 directive cited the sharp increase in postal ballots due to the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS). Since service voters receive ballots electronically but return them by mail, counting requires reading QR codes, which is a more time-consuming process.
The then CEC Rajiv Kumar had defended the 2019 process, arguing that it could not be changed midway through elections.
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What are the New Instructions
- Uniformity in counting: The EC has emphasized that, while postal ballot counting usually finishes before EVM counting, this new rule ensures clarity and eliminates the possibility of EVM tallies concluding first.
- Practical application: In Parliamentary constituencies where votes are counted Assembly segment-wise at multiple centres, the penultimate round of EVM counting will only be paused in centres where postal ballot counting is still ongoing.
- Timeline: Postal ballot counting begins at 8 am, followed by EVM counting at 8:30 am.
The role of postal ballots has expanded steadily over the years. In 2020, the EC extended the facility of postal voting to senior citizens above the age of eighty as well as to persons with disabilities. In addition, service voters, government officials deployed on election duty, and several other categories rely on this mechanism. As their numbers increase, the accuracy and transparency of postal ballot counting have become even more critical, making it essential that their tally is completed before EVM results are finalized.