LS polls Result: Counting of votes to begin at 8 am tomorrow

The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections will take place on Tuesday. The voting for all the seven phases will begin from 8 am, as per the Election Commission (EC). Addressing a press conference on Monday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar clarified that the count of postal ballots will start first across all counting centres and asserted that there was "no doubt about it". 

Responding to questions at a presser, he said after half-an-hour of the start of the postal ballot count, the counting of votes recorded in the electronic voting machines will commence. A delegation of the Opposition parties had on Sunday met the Commission to demand that postal ballot count should start first and the results of postal ballots should be announced first.

"Rules clearly state (Rule 54A) that postal ballot count will start first. On all centres in the country it will start



first, no doubt about it. After half-an-hour we start the EVM count. So, there are three countings which are happening simultaneously -- it happened in the 2019 elections, it happened in all the assembly polls held thereafter. It happened yesterday also in case of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assembly (vote count). We can't change anything mid course. Why can't we change, because it is compliant with the rules," the CEC added. 

Since 2019, VVPAT (paper-trail machine) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency (or segment in cases of Lok Sabha seats) are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency. Under Rule 54 A of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, the counting of postal ballot papers starts first at the Returning Officer's (RO) table. Only the Control Unit (CU) of the EVM used in the polling station is required for the counting of votes along with Form 17C.