First-level randomisation of EVMs completed in Nagapattinam

The first-level randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for three Assembly constituencies in Nagapattinam district was carried out on Monday in the presence of election officials and representatives of recognised political parties.

The exercise, held at the Collectorate, was conducted under the supervision of General Observer Parvez Ahmed Siddiq and District Election Officer and Collector P. Akash.

According to officials, the randomisation process covered EVMs earmarked for the Nagapattinam, Kilvelur and Vedaranyam Assembly constituencies.

For Nagapattinam constituency, 288 Ballot Units (BUs), 288 Control Units (CUs) and 312 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units were randomised. In Kilvelur, 264 BUs, 264 CUs and 286 VVPAT units were included, while for Vedaranyam, 288 BUs, 288 CUs and 312 VVPAT units underwent the process.

Officials said the randomised machines would be moved on March 24 from the district election strong room to the respective constituency-level strong rooms under armed police protection.

Election officials present at the event included Returning Officers R. Sankara Narayanan (Nagapattinam), Rajeswari (Kilvelur), and K. Kannan (Vedaranyam), along with Assistant Returning Officers, expenditure observers, and other government officials.

The exercise was carried out in accordance with Election Commission guidelines to ensure transparency in the allocation of EVMs.

EOM/