New Delhi, December 30: The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday held a press conference regarding the assembly elections to be held in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand etc., and made it clear that the assembly polls will be held as per schedule and without any delay. Earlier, there were speculations that the EC might change the poll schedule given the surge in cases of Omicron in India. However, the Chief Election Commissioner dispelled all such speculations. "Representatives of all political parties met us and told us that elections should be conducted on time following all COVID-19 protocols," said the CEC.

There were several other important announcements made by the CEC in the press conference. The Election Commission, to ensure voter turnout and make life easy for the disabled and senior citizen voters, said that the EC would reach out to voters with disabilities and those above 80 years of age. The CEC said that the Election Commission would "reach at the doorstep" of such voters.

The commission's emphasis on voter turnout was there for everyone to see as the CEC spoke about voting percentage in Uttar Pradesh in previous assembly elections. "61% voter turnout was recorded in 2017 UP assembly elections. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, voter turnout in UP was 59%. It a matter of worry why voting percentage is less in the state where there is high political awareness among people," said the CEC before elaborating on the measures the EC would take to ensure that the polls are conducted in a safe manner given the COVID-19 situation.

Voting during Assembly elections will be held from 8am to 6pm on the date of polling, announced the CEC. On the issue of VVPATs, the CEC said, "VVPATs will be installed at all voting booths. Live webcasting facilities will be available at around 1 lakh voting booths to ensure transparency in election process." Besides, the CEC also spoke on how the EC officials met police officers and officials from the administration in the state of Uttar Pradesh to inquire about poll preparation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 30, 2021 01:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).