EC appoints 3,833 micro observers for phase-I polls in K'taka

Bangalore, May 8 (UNI) The Election Commission has deployed 3,833 micro observers to ensure free and fair conduct of Assembly elections in 89 constituencies in Karnataka that go to the polls in the first phase on May ten.

Official sources said the micro observers, drawn from Central Government and Public Sector units, were being deployed for the first time in the State to specifically function inside polling stations on the day of election.

The micro observers would oversee the proceedings inside the polling booths and report directly to the General Observers stationed at the constituency level in a specific format meant for the purpose, they said.

Out of the eleven districts going to the polls in the first phase, in Mandya alone, the EC had appointed 450 such micro observers.

Mandya District Deputy Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told UNI that micro observers would come to the polling stations at 0600 hrs on the day of voting and conduct a mock drill on voting proceedings with EVMs and erase it before the real voting process started at 0700 hrs.

They would report unusual incidents, if any, inside the booths from 0600 hrs to 1900 hrs, to the General Observer, he said.

The General Observers were drawn from the IAS category for observing and ensuring fairness in the election process, he said.

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