Hyderabad: District Election Officer and GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan on Tuesday stressed that Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers play a crucial role in ensuring transparent and orderly polling.
He spoke at the second phase of election training at G. Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science, Shaikpet. The session focused on the Jubilee Hills Assembly by-election and drew nearly 500 participants.
Presiding Officers election training covers polling-day duties
Karnan, along with GHMC Additional Commissioner (Elections) Hemant Keshav Patil, presented a detailed briefing on election procedures. They explained polling-day responsibilities using a PowerPoint presentation.
Master trainers gave hands-on demonstrations of electronic voting machines. They showed how to set up and operate ballot units, control units, and VVPATs. Trainers also covered interconnection steps, mock polling, and actual voting procedures.
With 59 candidates contesting, including NOTA, each station will use four Ballot Units, one Control Unit, and one VVPAT. Trainers guided officers on assembling this configuration correctly.
Election Police Observer Om Prakash Tripathi and Expenditure Observer Sanjeev Kumar Lal inspected the training. They urged staff to follow all Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines and maintain neutrality.
During the interactive session, trainers responded to questions and cleared doubts raised by officials. Karnan urged officers to study the ECI’s Presiding Officers’ Handbook carefully. He instructed them to follow every rule exactly as prescribed.
He advised them to prepare a checklist for polling day and verify materials in advance. These include EVMs, voter rolls, PO diaries, and display items.
“Polling day is the most crucial part of the election process,” Karnan said. “Every officer must be fully aware of their duties, from the day of training till polling ends.”
Election officials Sunanda and Mamatha coordinated the programme.