Reversing its 2019 decision to de-link the counting of postal ballots and votes polled on EVMs, the Election Commission on Thursday changed the counting process to ensure that the EVM tally is only completed after all the postal ballots are counted.

“The penultimate (second last) round of EVM/VVPATs counting shall not be taken up until the counting of postal ballot papers is completed at the counting centre,” the EC said in instructions issued to the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories. It said the decision was taken “in order to further streamline the counting process and to provide necessary clarity to the counting of postal ballot”.

In case of a Parliamentary constituency, if votes are counted Assembly segment-wise at multiple counting centres, the penultimate

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