Municipal elections are being held in 26 districts of Bihar on Saturday. E-voting is being conducted via mobile app for the first time. 40,280 voters have registered. The commission has made complete preparations.
Bihar Municipal Election: E-voting is being used for the first time in the municipal elections and by-elections being held in Bihar on Saturday. This is the first time in the country that voters will cast their votes through a mobile app in any election. The State Election Commission has made special preparations for this and has also made the necessary technical arrangements to make e-voting successful.
Who can use E-voting
This time, the commission has started the facility of e-voting for senior citizens, the disabled, terminally ill patients, pregnant women, and migrant voters. Voters of these categories have been allowed to vote through the mobile app. For this, 40,280 voters have registered.
E-voting Time
The time for e-voting has been set from 7 am to 1 pm. Voters can vote from anywhere during this time through their mobile app. This facility is especially for those who cannot reach the polling station.
Traditional Voting Time
Other voters will vote through EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines). The time for traditional voting has been fixed from 7 am to 5 pm. For this, complete administrative and security arrangements have been made at the polling stations.
Where Voting is Taking Place
According to the State Election Commission, voting is being conducted in 42 municipal bodies of 26 districts. Elections are being held for a total of 136 posts, including 121 ward councilors, 8 deputy chief councilors, and 7 chief councilors.
Uncontested Elections for Some Posts
Elections have already been held unopposed for nine posts. Due to the order of the Patna High Court, elections have been postponed for three posts for the time being.
Total Number of Voters
A total of 3,79,674 voters are participating in the elections this time. This includes 1,97,129 men, 1,82,539 women, and 12 voters of other categories. This figure shows that a large number of citizens are participating in the municipal elections.
Security and Administrative Preparations
To make the voting peaceful and fair, the State Election Commission has appointed 489 presiding officers and 2,121 polling staff. In addition, 1,502 police officers and 5,017 police personnel have been deployed at the polling stations.
Arrangement for Live Webcasting
Arrangements have been made for live webcasting to monitor the voting process from the polling stations. This will allow immediate action to be taken on any kind of irregularities and maintain transparency.