Gujarat polls on December 9 and 14, counting on 18th

New Delhi: Polling for 182 assembly seats of Gujarat will take place on December 9th and 14th while counting will take place on December 18th which is also counting date for Himachal Pradesh assembly polls.

The Election Commission of India today announced these dates and entire schedule of elections which is available on this link.

While first phase of polling which is December 9 is going to cover 89 seats of the regions of Saurashtra and South Gujarat, the second phase of polling which is December 14 will cover 93 seats of the regions of Central and North Gujarat including Ahmedabad and Vadodara.

The Model Code of Conduct comes into immediate effect, CEC Joti said.

The poll process will start on November 14 with the issue of the gazette notification for the first phase. Candidates can start filing their nominations from that day.

The first phase will be held in 89 of the 182 seats and will cover 19 of 33 districts.

The notification for the second phase will be issued on November 20 for remaining 93 assembly seats.

 

 

Paper trail of votes will be used in all the 50,128 polling stations in the state to ensure transparency, Joti said.

The voters will be able to see their votes cast through the Voter-Verified Paper Trail Audit (VVPAT) machines.

The Commission has also set up 182 all-women polling stations, one in each assembly constituency.

Joti said CCTV cameras will be used at border checkposts to prevent the smuggling of liquor and money and to stop anti-social elements from entering the state.

“Elections in Gujarat have always been peaceful and the Commission will take all steps to ensure that,” the CEC said.