Hyderabad: Youth, women and persons with disabilities (PwD) will be managing their own polling stations across the state, this time around.
Towards this, Election Commission officials have given instructions to all district electoral officers (DEOs) to focus on setting up more polling
stations, which would be managed by these three categories, and thereby increase the voting percentage in the ensuing Assembly elections. Concerned at the poor percentage of voting in the twin cities in the previous election, poll panel officials have been motivating urban voters to visit polling stations and exercise their franchise.
"One can find in the latest electoral list that there has been a steady increase in the number of youth and women voters in all the 119 Assembly constituencies. Several measures have been taken to ensure that more voters enrol themselves. In order to increase voting percentage, all DEOs have been directed to set up separate polling stations for women, youth and PwD in all constituencies," officials said here on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, GHMC officials have started identifying wards that have more youth and women voters. Separate polling stations for the three categories will be set up in such locations. They will be monitored by trained women and youngsters, who, in turn, would be assisted by EC staff, they said.
Number of polling station: 35,356
Average voter turnout per polling station: 897
Urban polling stations: 14,458
Rural polling stations: 20,898
Polling stations managed by women: 597
Polling stations managed by youth: 119
Polling stations managed by PwD: 120
Model polling stations: 644
Webcasting polling stations: 27,798.
