GUWAHATI, May 15 � The fate of the 162 candidates for the 14 Lok Sabha seats of Assam will be decided tomorrow, with the counting scheduled to begin at 8 am.
While the entire exercise is expected to be completed by 5 pm, trends would be known from 11 am onwards, sources in the State Election Department said.
�All arrangements have been completed for the counting process, which will be conducted in 51 counting centres, comprising 142 counting halls across the State. Counting would be done in the presence of Central observers, as well as micro observers. A foolproof three-tier security is being arranged in and around the counting centres,� Additional Chief Electoral Officer Donald Gilfellon told The Assam Tribune today.
Gilfellon added that victory processions have been banned in the entire Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) in view of the sensitiveness of the region.
According to Election Commission guidelines, the process of counting of votes from EVMs begins half-an-hour after the postal ballots are counted. The �ballot unit� is switched on in the presence of senior poll officials and counting agents of candidates, and the result command keyed in to get results per machine.
Assam had gone to the polls in three phases � on April 7, 12 and 24. The State witnessed an unprecedented voter turnout at 80.13 per cent.
