Port Blair, Sept 18: All electors of Port Blair Municipal Council, Gram Panchayats of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and officials on Election Duty have been informed that mobile phones will not be allowed inside the polling booth on the day of elections on Sept 20, 2015. Cell phones of polling personnel should be kept in switched off mode inside the polling booths.
Elaborate arrangements have been done for counting of votes on Sept 21, 2015 at JNRM (For Port Blair Gram Panchayats) and at Government Girls Senior Secondary School (For Port Blair Municipal Council) and mobile phones shall not be allowed to be taken inside the counting halls and Mobile phones shall not be used from anywhere else within the campus.
All mediapersons shall be accommodated in the media room. Use of mobile phones and other communication equipment shall be allowed from the media centre. It has been further clarified that no one (not even the candidate or RO/ARO etc) except the observers appointed by the Director, Panchayat and Municipal Elections shall be allowed to carry a mobile phone inside the counting hall.
A Public Communication Room at both the counting hall has been earmarked for safe-keeping of the mobiles etc of the candidates and their agents/representatives to make use of their mobile phones in case of any need.
No camera- still or video of the media except for official recording of the entire counting process is allowed to be fixed inside any counting hall. No camera stand should therefore be allowed to be taken inside counting hall by media and journalists. Hand held cameras will be allowed to the authorized pass holders. Further, while taking audio video coverage of the counting process, with camera carried in hand or on shoulders by the media/press, under no circumstances, the actual votes recorded on an individual EVM or ballot papers is to be photographed or covered by audio visual coverage. The exact location, up to which the still and video camera of the media and press can move, shall be indicated by the Returning Officer in advance, marked by a line or a string for guidance of all concerned, said the Additional District Magistrate, South Andaman, in a release.
