Polling staff, equipment, and route teams deployed for panchayat elections in three phases

Hyderabad: Election authorities have finalised all arrangements for the three-phase panchayat elections in the district. More than 11,000 polling staff and support teams will manage 4,110 polling stations during the process.

In the first phase, elections will be held for 146 sarpanch and 1,072 ward member posts. The second phase includes 143 sarpanch and 1,109 ward seats, while the third phase covers 150 sarpanch and 1,140 ward positions.

So far, 43 sarpanch and 789 ward member seats have been filled unopposed across the three phases.

Polling staff strength linked to voter count

Officials have tailored staffing based on the size of the voter base at each station. Stations with up to 200 voters will have one Presiding Officer (PO) and one Other Polling Officer (OPO). For 201–400 voters, two OPOs will support the PO. In booths with 401–650 voters, three OPOs will assist.

Additionally, 20% extra staff have been kept in reserve. In the first phase, 1,621 POs and 1,853 OPOs will be on duty. The second phase will involve 1,632 POs and 2,048 OPOs, while the third will see 1,732 POs and 1,894 OPOs.

Webcasting and route teams in place for supervision

To improve monitoring, authorities appointed 10 micro observers and 5 reserve observers. Webcasting will take place through 122 CCTV cameras.

The district has arranged 1,753 ballot boxes for use in the first phase. To manage field-level coordination, 49 route officers and 15 zonal officers will oversee polling across five mandals in phase one. In phase two, 69 route and 14 zonal officers will cover seven mandals.

Each mandal will have a designated distribution centre to streamline logistics on polling day.