EC issues guidelines to run Prez polls smoothly

Though snubbed a request to make it mandatory for the presidential candidates to declare their assets, liabilities and criminal antecedents, the Election Commission for the first time in the history of election to the Rainsina Hills? issued a series of guidelines to ensure that the successor to APJ Abdul Kalam is chosen smoothly.

Written by Political Bureau

July 16, 2007 00:00 IST

Though snubbed a request to make it mandatory for the presidential candidates to declare their assets, liabilities and criminal antecedents, the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday?for the first time in the history of election to the Rainsina Hills? issued a series of guidelines to ensure that the successor to APJ Abdul Kalam is chosen smoothly.

The 27-charter guidelines, running into more than 100 pages, relate to issues as diverse as video coverage of critical events to ban on carrying cell phones by voters inside polling stations and the showing of proper identification by MPs and MLAs on the polling day.

As part of the guidelines, the EC has also instructed returning officers that the videography of critical events would be mandatory and should cover storage of ballot boxes, papers and other election materials, as well as opening of strong rooms for shifting ballot boxes and papers to the place of election on polling day.

This article was first uploaded on July sixteen, twenty seven, at zero minutes past twelve in the am.