Voters to undergo strict safety measures:EC

By Sandun A Jayasekera

A voter will have to go through several stages at the polling station today as the Elections Commission (EC) has set in motion a number of health guidelines and protocol to ensure that the General Election 2020 will not be an element to escalate Covid- 19 after the polls, a senior official of the EC said yesterday.   

“When the voter centres the polling station he or she is expected  to wash the hands using soap and thereafter be met by a ‘Verification Officer’ who will check the National Identity Card (NIC) and the Poll Card of the voter. The officer will then request the voter to remove the face mask for compare the voter’s face with the NIC. After the Verification Officer’s scrutiny, the voter will be met by another election official who will again check the poll card with the electoral register and would call out the name of the voter. Thereafter the voter’s hands will be sprayed with sanitizer and  asked to remove the face mask and is issued with the ballot paper,” Assistant Elections Commissioner, Sreen Yapa Boralessa said.   

He said that once the poll card was given to the voter, another official will use a disposable stick made of wax with a wad of cotton wool at the end of it to use to paint the finger of the voter. After the colouring of the finger of the voter, the stick will be discarded.   

“The voter must use his or her own ballpoint pen to mark the vote. However, a pen will be provided by the officials if the voter does not have one. Before, the voter leaves the polling station, his or her hands will once again will be sanitized,” Mr. Boralessa said.