CPI(M) Flags Voting Issues for Poll Duty Staff, Seeks EC Intervention

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer demanding that the Election Commission ensure the voting rights of government employees deployed on election duty. The party said the new system, which has replaced the earlier postal ballot facility, is fraught with ambiguities and operational failures that are effectively disenfranchising a large number of officials.

The memorandum pointed out that ballots are not reaching facilitation centres in time, and that those which do arrive face further delays due to redundant re-verification by nodal officers, despite having already been checked by the Returning Officer. As a result, several employees who reported to facilitation centres between April 1 and 7 as directed were forced to return without casting their votes. A significant number of personnel at second-phase training centres also could not vote due to the non-availability of ballots. If they wish to vote subsequently, they would be required to travel several kilometres to reach the facilitation centre in their assigned constituency.

The party noted that many officials are discouraged from voting under these circumstances, made worse by the fact that duty leave is not being granted for this purpose. While facilitation centres are promised at distribution centres, several RO offices have no clarity on how many such centres will be set up. Many employees who received late duty assignments have not yet been able to apply for postal ballots, and though Returning Officers reportedly have the authority to extend the deadline, several are taking a negative stance on the matter. The failure of the Chief Electoral Officer to issue uniform and transparent guidelines has further compounded the problem.

The situation is particularly difficult for essential services personnel, who are expected to travel to facilitation centres in their home constituencies — which may be in distant districts — cast their vote, and return to duty, with no guarantee that ballots will even be available upon arrival.

The CPI(M) state secretariat's memorandum demanded that the deadline for applying for postal ballots be extended to cover all eligible employees; that facilitation centres be set up at all RO offices to enable voting across constituencies; that a sufficient number of facilitation centres be established at distribution centres; and that postal ballots be dispatched by post to those yet to receive them. The party also demanded that facilitation centres remain operational beyond April 9.

The memorandum emphasised that the Election Commission's responsibility is to ensure that every eligible voter is able to exercise their franchise — not to deny it on technical grounds.