Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the bypolls for Balasore Sadar and Tirtol Assembly constituencies, Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) SK Lohani has convened an all-party meeting here Thursday to sensitise political parties about the election norms.
The CEO apprised the representatives of the political parties about the announcement of byelections for the two Assembly seats issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI), last dates for filing nominations, verification, withdrawal, voting and vote counting. Lohani also sought cooperation from the political parties for smooth conduct of the byelections.
It may be mentioned here that the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the two constituencies after the announcement of dates.
If any candidate has any kind of criminal case against him/her, he/she has to declare/disseminate the same through electronic or print media for at least three times.
In view of COVID-19 pandemic, postal ballot facilities to senior citizens (above 80 years of age) and persons with disability, COVID positive voters, suspected COVID-19 persons and the people who are under home isolation, he said. As per the schedule, bypoll to these two constituencies will be held November 3 while the counting of votes and the results will be announced November 10.
While a gazette notification will be issued for the bypoll October 9, the last date of filing nominations is October 16. The scrutiny of the nominations will be conducted October 17 and the withdrawal of nominations is set for October 19. The Commission has asked to complete the poll process by November 12.
