Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of recent controversies, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Khelkar has issued a strict directive that no rooms in vote-counting centres should be opened until the counting process is fully completed.
The instruction clearly states that even unsealed rooms within counting centres must remain closed. The directive has been communicated to District Collectors, who serve as the Chief Returning Officers across districts.
The move follows incidents reported from Perambra and Nenmara constituencies. In Perambra, the opening of a material room at the JDT Islam Convention Centre in Kozhikode—where voting machines were stored—sparked controversy. However, officials clarified that the strong room containing EVMs and postal ballots was never opened. According to the District Collector, only an unsealed material room was accessed on April 20 at 11:15 AM to verify and finalize data in the ENCORE software system.
Similarly, in Nenmara, there were reports about plans to open a strong room at Victoria College, Palakkad, to retrieve a Presiding Officer’s diary. However, authorities clarified that it was not the strong room but a material room that was intended to be opened to access Form 17A documents.
Amid rising concerns and political reactions, the Chief Electoral Officer has now ordered that such rooms should not be opened under any circumstances until vote counting concludes, ensuring transparency and maintaining public trust in the electoral process.
