Thiruvananthapuram: The State Election Commission has asked the state government to give COVID-19 patients and those under quarantine to give an opportunity to apply for postal ballots till 3pm on the eve of polling day.

The Commission's intervention came after perusing the draft ordinance sent by the Kerala government which allowed Covid patients and those under quarantine to apply for postal ballots upto two days prior to the poll.

The panel pointed out that by implementing the proposed change the number of Covid patients coming to polling booths could be reduced and it would also create an environment in which other voters will be able to exercise their franchise without any apprehensions.

Voting at polling booth

The Commission accepted the state government's proposal that people who have tested Covid positive or gone into quarantine after the stipulated time to apply for postal ballots should be allowed to vote directly in polling booths in the last one hour.

The Health Department with the assistance of Collectors will make arrangements for Covid patients who are in hospitals and those in qurantine to cast their votes.

Covid patients who are at their homes should come directly to the booth and cast their votes at the end. The health department will issue certificates in advance to such voters. Polling officials should take all safety precautions including wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when these voters come to the booth.

At the same time the Election Commission partially accepted the state government's proposal that poll officials should visit the houses of Covid patients and those under quarantine, handover postal ballots and subsequently return with the votes cast. However, the Commission said that in such cases no pressure should be exerted on the voters and their votes should be registered only after obtaining the request for postal ballot.

The Commission asked the government to allow voters to hand over the ballot to poll officials directly or send it to the returning officer through a relative or messenger or by post.

List preparation

The health department will prepare the list of voters who are Covid positive or are under quarantine, 10 days ahead of the poll. On subsequent days the list will be revised. Subsequently, the lists would be submitted to the Collectors who will then hand them over to the returning officer.

Poll officials escorted by police, will reach the place where such voters are under treatment or in quarantine, get their votes cast in a secret manner and return with the ballot papers.

Candidate’s proposer

State Election Commissioner V Bhaskaran has directed that before rejecting the nomination papers of the candidates for local bodies poll, the officials should carefully examine the Kerala Panchayat Raj/Municipality Acts and ensure sufficient reasons for rejection.

The candidate can be a voter of any of the wards of the local body. But the proposer should be a voter from the candidate's ward.

In case if the candidate is a voter of some other ward then he needs to attach and submit the attested copy of the voters list or the relevant portion of the voter list along with the nomination paper or produce the same at the time of scrutiny.