As the vote counting process in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections is becoming more and more intense, the Election Commission of India has announced a three-tier security system throughout all the counting centres. The officials verified that close to 1 lakh security personnel will be posted to maintain smooth and secure counting exercises, with almost 20,000 security personnel posted in Chennai itself.
Archana Patnaik, chief Electoral Officer, said that stringent security levels were put in place around the 62 designated counting centres. The first layer will create a 100-metre restricted perimeter within which entry will be restricted to authorised persons only. The police forces will be stationed at the entry points to control the movement and to exclude the unauthorised entry.
The second level of security will also address the entry gates of the counting premises, where the State Armed Police personnel will address the entry control and maintain the discipline at the counting premises. Only under strict supervision will mobile phones and communication devices be allowed in specific zones only.
The counting halls and Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) strong rooms will be secured by the third and the innermost layer that will be controlled by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to provide maximum security.
The Election Commission has also introduced a identity verification system via a QR code based system through the ECINET mobile application, the first time the Election Commission has introduced an identity verification system.
The postal ballots will start counting at 8 am with the EVM counting starting at 8.30 am in 234 halls. To ensure the transparency and accuracy of the whole process, 3,324 counting tables will be used, which will be supported by 10,545 counting personnel, as well as 4,624 micro-observers.