Strong rooms, unsealed rooms shouldn't be opened under any circumstance: Election Commission

The direction was issued by Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar following reports of a strong room storing EVMs in Perambra constituency in Kozhikode being opened on Monday, and reported plans to open another one in Nenmara constituency in Palakkad.

Thiruvananthapuram: The EC on Tuesday issued clear directions to all district election officers and returning officers in Kerala not to open any strong rooms or unsealed rooms in counting centres under any circumstances before the day of counting.

The direction was issued by Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar following reports that a strong room storing EVMs in the Perambra constituency in Kozhikode was opened on Monday, and that there were reported plans to open another in the Nenmara constituency in Palakkad.

"It has been reiterated that under no circumstances shall any strong rooms or unsealed rooms be opened or accessed for the purpose of preparing Index Cards or verifying data on the ENCORE portal.

"All concerned officers have been directed to ensure strict compliance with these instructions to safeguard the integrity, transparency, and security of the electoral process," a statement issued by Kelkar's office said.

Responding to a TV channel's query on the matter, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said that, according to election laws and rules, no one is supposed to go near strong rooms.

"So, why was the material room kept close to the strong room? There is something suspicious about it. The party and the UDF are looking into the matter very seriously. There has to be a proper probe into the matter," he contended.

"Overall, it appears that steps are being taken by the state and central governments to sabotage the people's verdict. That is what we understand from these incidents," he claimed.

Later in the day, Palakkad District Collector Madhavikutty M S, in a statement, termed reports that the strong room containing electronic voting machines used in the Nenmara constituency had been opened as incorrect.

The collector said the returning officer had informed representatives of all candidates that a room where election documents were kept would be opened to prepare ENCORE data before the counting of votes.

This room was in the same building as the strong room, and representatives of the candidates and videography teams were present at the centre in the morning, the statement said.

However, in view of the spread of false news that the strong room had been opened, the collector, as instructed by the chief electoral officer, directed the RO not to open the room containing election documents, it said.

The collector also instructed all returning officers not to open any rooms at counting centres where EVMs are kept before counting begins, without instructions from the CEO.

On Monday, the Kozhikode district administration had clarified that no strong room was opened.

Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who is also the district election officer, had said that an unsealed "material room" at JDT Islam Higher Secondary School was opened in the presence of candidates' agents to verify and update polling records.

He said in a statement that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPATs were securely stored in a sealed strong room on the first floor of the building under the supervision of central observers and candidates' agents, and that the strong room had not been opened.

However, leaders of the Congress and the party-led UDF alleged that the incident amounted to a violation of election rules.

The results of the April 9 Assembly polls in 140 constituencies in the state will be declared on May 4.