POLL

Special facilities in polling stations for women electors.

8. In order to ensure that the women electors fully participate in elections and the turnout of women electors is improved, the Commission has issued several instructions from time to time. The Commission has already issued directions in Chapter II of ``Handbook for Returning Officers," that in places where two polling stations are set up in the same building or compound, there is no objection to allotting one of them for men and the other for women. The Commission has further clarified that even in the common polling stations, separate queues for men and women should be formed. The Commission has also directed that when separate polling stations are provided for men and women voters of a particular polling area, these should, as far as possible, be located in the same building.

9. Attention in this regard is also drawn to Chapter VIII of the ``Handbook for Returning Officers, where it has been clarified that where there are a large number of women electors, especially purdahnasheen women, women Polling Officers should be appointed to carry out the duty of identifying the electors.

10. In order that no sections of women for reasons of social or religious customs are prevented from exercising franchise only because of lack of privacy and other required facilities in polling stations, the Commission, in elaboration of its instructions contained in the Handbook, hereby directs that -

(i) it shall be the responsibility of the Chief Electoral Officer, District Election Officer, Returning Officer, Assistant Returning Officer and Presiding Officer to ensure that special arrangements, whenever required, are made for women electors to exercise their franchise in the presence of Lady staff;

(ii) such areas and polling stations should be identified forthwith:

(iii) in such identified areas/polling stations, lady staff must be necessarily included in the team of polling parties for such polling stations;

11. The Commission also directs that:-

(i) to protect the sensitivity regarding privacy of women voters, separate enclosures for identification of purdahnasheen women should be provided in the polling station with locally available but absolutely inexpensive devices and using local ingenuity, such as use of charpoys or cloth such as bed spreads.

(ii) Where the number of female electors is significant (say 50% or above) and in areas where the system of Burqa or purdah is observed as a social custom, in each of these polling stations at least one Polling Officer must be a lady Polling Officer.

(iii) In polling stations exclusively meant for women electors, the polling personnel should have as many lady officer as available, consistent with overall security requirements.

(iv) In other polling stations also to the extent possible and available, at least one lady polling officer shall be appointed for identifying and assisting the women electors. In the matter of identification of women electors, the services of lady village level workers, Gram Sevikas, and lady school teachers, etc., can be made use of for this purpose.

12. If women officials are not available for such a duty in required number, the Returning Officer or the Presiding Officer has in terms of rule 34(2) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 the authority and the responsibility to exercise his power to appoint `any' woman to serve as an attendant at the polling station to assist women electors and also to assist Presiding Officer in respect of women electors. The Commission has directed that the RO/Presiding Officer should make use of this provision to ensure that the privacy and sensitivity of the women electors are protected. While choosing such a person who could be any woman of the locality, special care should be taken to ensure that such persons as are appointed for this purpose do not have any known leanings for or allegiance to any political party or candidate.

13. The Commission further directs that widest possible publicity should be given to the special arrangements made for enabling women electors to exercise their franchise in the presence of women polling officers. This should also be highlighted in the training classes for Presiding Officers/Assistant Returning Officers/Sector Magistrate and other Supervisory Officers who will be responsible for implementing the Commission's directions.

The receipt of this order should be knowledge immediately.



BACK TO INDEX I PREVIOUS PAGE I NEXT DOCUMENT I BACK TO SEARCH I