ECI to strike deal with Department of Posts

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to enter into an agreement with the Department of Posts for timely delivery of postal ballot to over 3.37 lakh personnel, including 37,000 in the defence, enabling them to exercise their franchise.

Chief Electoral Officer Karnataka Anil Kumar Jha said that there is a process of sending ballot papers to defence personnel 48 hours after the last date of withdrawal of candidates. He said that that the ballot papers would be given to over three lakh employees of state and Union governments, who would be deployed for poll works during the second and final round of electoral training. “The ballot papers supplied to defence personnel have to be certified by the respective unit officers under whom they are posted,” he said. The ballot papers which will have to be returned to their respective returning officers before the day of counting.
Two envelopes would be posted to the defence personnel. One will include a ballot paper for casting the vote while the other is for certifying it by the unit officers. Meanwhile, the ECI has applied brakes on the state Legislative Assembly secretariat for recruiting several posts, including that of Junior Assistant and D group.
The ECI had also reportedly stalled the disbursement of financial assistance from the CM’s Fund for medical relief.

Source : http://newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/article1531413.ece