Postal ballot “miscount” row: State employees’ body levels serious charges against Election Commission

Thiruvananthapuram: A government employees’ union has accused the Election Commission of committing a “serious lapse” in the distribution of postal ballots to polling duty staff, claiming that the Commission’s official figures are incorrect and that 20,145 state employees were effectively denied the chance to vote.

The Federation of State Employees and Teachers’ Organisations (FSETO) said the Commission’s claim that over 96 per cent of election duty staff had exercised their franchise was “factually wrong”, pointing out that the watchdog itself had earlier admitted that only about 40 per cent of such officials had cast their votes even by the time polling materials were collected.

The union alleges that the Commission failed even to release an accurate count of the total number of polling staff deployed across the state. In protest, FSETO has announced a statewide demonstration today, with marches planned to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Thiruvananthapuram and to district collectors’ offices in other districts from 10.30 a.m.

The union is demanding that the Commission provide special voting facilities for all officials who were deprived of postal ballots, along with the settlement of pending wage arrears for booth level officers (BLOs) and action against the police over alleged acts of excess against BLOs.

Meanwhile, the dispute has moved into the legal arena. Ten government employees from the Kuttyadi constituency have approached the Kerala High Court, seeking a direction to create a special mechanism that would allow them to cast their postal votes before the counting process begins.

The High Court is scheduled to hear the petition today, adding further pressure on the Commission as conflicting figures and mounting protests inject a sharp political edge into the run up to the vote count.