
34,161 candidates in fray for 10,915 posts of Panchayati Raj bodies PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun The counting of votes for the three -tier Panchayati Raj bodies in 12 districts of the State will be held on Thursday. The State Election Commission (SEC) has claimed to have made all the preparations for the counting which will commence at 8 AM on the day. The counting of votes will be done for 10,915 posts of Panchayat bodies and the SEC has deployed 15,024 personnel for its smooth conduct. A total of 8,926 security personnel have been deployed at the counting centres. In the Panchayat elections a total of 34,161 candidates are in fray. The secretary SEC, Rahul Kumar Goyal said that the process of voting was conducted in a transparent manner and now the counting of the votes will also be done transparently. He said that the SEC has made all the preparations for the counting of the votes. The process of counting of votes will be done under the strict vigil of observers, zonal magistrates and Police officers. He said that necessary barricading has been done at all the counting centres. Goyal informed that the election results will be shown on the website of the SEC after the declaration of results at the level of returning officers. Meanwhile the SEC has imposed a ban on the victory processions after the declaration of results. The commission has directed all the district magistrates to impose a complete ban on such processions. The SEC will deploy a senior officer of police (circle officer/ inspector/ Police Station in-charge) at every counting centre. The SEC reported an overall voter turnout of 69.16 per cent in the Panchayat elections in 89 blocks of the State. As per the data of the commission, 74.42 per cent female and 64.23 per cent male voters exercised Panchayat elections. The Panchayat elections were held in two phases ( July 24 and July 28) in all the districts of the State barring Haridwar.
