Visakhapatnam District Collector: ‘Rs 13.41 crore confiscated for violating ECI rules’

Speaking on the upcoming election, Dr A Mallikarjuna, the Collector and District Election Officer of Vizag, conducted a press conference on 30 April 2024, where he said that the nomination process in the city followed the guidelines set by the Election Commission of India. In the same conference, he further added that the election officials have confiscated unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 13.41 crore, due to violations of the election norms. On the same length, 82 cases have been registered regarding the violation of the model code of conduct. He reported that 71 government employees faced action for breaching the model code, with 28 of them having FIRs filed against them. In addition, 54 FIRs were lodged against various political parties. The public submitted 61 complaints to the complaint redressal desk, out of which 57 have been addressed.

The collector emphasized that the nomination process proceeded without any disturbances and that measures are being taken to ensure a transparent election.

To prevent any mishaps moving forward, six checkpoints have been established and approximately 6,000 police officers will be assigned to election duty.

Home polling will be conducted on 7 and 8 May for voters over 85 years old, and for those with a physical disability of 40% or more. If these voters are unable to vote on these dates, they will have another opportunity to do so on 9 May. So far, around 1,523 voters have registered for home voting.

Government employees involved in election duty, along with police, transport, and emergency services personnel, can use the postal voting facility at a centre that will be set up in Andhra University on 5, 6, 7, and 8 May. Approximately 11,221 employees have registered for this service.

The collector assured reporters that all official machinery has been prepared to conduct the polls peacefully. As of April 25, the Vizag district has 20,12,373 registered voters, and a total of 134 candidates participating in the 2024 election polls.

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