Did not get request on code: Andhra Pradesh cheif electrol officer GK Dwivedi

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) G. K. Dwivedi said that the Election Commission (EC) has not received any request from the State government seeking relaxation of the election code in the cyclone-affected areas. He explained that the State government has to submit an application to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to that effect and said that in case the State government ends up submitting the request to the State EC, then he shall bring the same to the notice of the ECI. He said that the authority, in this case, lies with the ECI and that the State EC shall implement whatever orders they receive from the ECI.

Mr Dwivedi further said that the cyclone Fani poses no danger to the EVMs as all EVMs have been preserved in safe places and are further fortified by their respective strongrooms. He assured that the district collectors have taken measures to ensure the safety and security of the EVMs. He said that the collectors of the cyclone-affected districts of Vizianagaram and Srika-kulam have been asked to remain alert towards the protection of the EVMs.

Mr Dwivedi also said that the EC has given clear instructions pertaining to the counting of VVPAT slips. As per these instructions, 5 VVPATs will be counted in every Assembly and Parliam-entary constituency, and the Assembly and Parliament VVPAT slips will be counted separately. He stated that the counting of VVPAT slips will be held after the counting of the number of votes recorded on EVMs, and will be conducted in the presence of the Returning Officer and the Poll Observer. He said that VVPAT slips will be recounted only if a difference is noted between the number of votes recorded on EVMs versus the number of votes polled on VVPATs. He affirmed that the votes polled on VVPATs will be taken into consideration.