Voters cannot take their mobile phones inside the polling booths while casting their votes, Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo said in Chennai on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Sahoo said that the Election Commission had made it clear which officers could carry their mobile phones. The rules did not allow all polling staff to keep their phones, he said. “Within the polling booth, even cameras and cell phones are not allowed. It is clear...Voters also cannot take their mobile phones [into the booths],” he said.
Replying to a query on the public and tourists being put to hardship by officials while enforcing the Model Code of Conduct, Mr. Sahoo said: “We are very much aware. We are issuing instructions to look into it.”
To a query on private companies granting paid leave to their employees for the election, Mr. Sahoo said: “We have instructed, through the Labour Department, that a one-day paid holiday should be provided.”
Earlier, while addressing a function, Mr. Sahoo referred to doubts raised over Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units, and said the Election Commission had explained how the entire machinery was “flawless”.
Commenting on the voter turnout in Tamil Nadu, he said the State had been consistently recording 73% to 74% turnout in the last decade, while the national average was around 67%.
Mr. Sahoo said the turnout was about 80% in rural areas, and had been lower in urban areas. “When it comes to the bigger cities, bigger towns, it comes down...So, there is some introspection we need to do as voters,” he said.
