Port Blair, Feb 8: As part of the ensuing Panchayat & Municipal Elections -2022, the Office of the Director (Panchayat and Municipal Elections) today organised a training programme for the Sector Officers & Model Code of Conduct (MCC) teams at the DBRAIT auditorium.

Addressing the trainees on the occasion, the DPME, Shri Suneel Anchipaka, IAS reiterated that the Sector Officers play a vital role in the management of elections and is responsible for multifarious aspects of election management from the day of their appointment till the completion of the poll process. He asked all the Sector Officers and the MCC teams to attend the briefing classes to acquaint themselves fully with the election procedures contained in the Election Rules so that the election is conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.  

He further stated that Sector officers as sector magistrates have to check the enforcement of MCC strictly which is already in place soon after the declaration of Elections.They should frequently visit and get familiar with the jurisdiction of sector and polling stations of their respective sectors. They should remain in close contact with supervisory police officers and report any situation of law and order to the District Magistrate. They should be present at the time of distribution and should be in constant touch with the Returning Officers and keep extra polling materials with in vehicle on the day of poll.

They should report when all polling parties along with polling materials reach their polling stations under their jurisdiction. The responsibility of the Sector Officer is enormous on the day of Poll, they have to assist the Presiding Officers in the Polling Stations so that the voting starts in time and continues without any hiccups, intimate commencement of poll and submit two hourly report promptly including the close of poll.

They have to also escort and transport the polled boxes and polling materials to the collection centres. Further the Sector Officers should be present at the collection centre after end of poll to ensure all the Presiding/Polling Officers have deposited polled materials in the collection centre.

On the day of counting, they should ensure that the polled materials are shifted to the counting centre under proper security well in time before commencement of counting and also keep a close watch on law and order situation after declaration of results.

The DPME also asked the Sector Officers of North & Middle Andaman to take the training seriously and acquaint themselves with the procedures so that they can train fellow election officials of their respective areas without any difficulty.  The DPME also directed the MCC teams to be strict on the violators of Model Code of Conduct. 

Earlier, the Nodal Officer, Training & Vehicle, Dr. Aom Dhole welcomed the DPME and the trainees present.

Shri Som Naidu, DANICS (Retd) as the resource person briefed about the roles and responsibilities of Sector Officers pertaining to conduct of elections in the UTs.

The Sector Officers & MCC teams from South Andaman, North and Middle Andaman District attended the training at DBRAIT while the Sector Officers of Campbell Bay joined the training through Google Meet.

Meanwhile, a training programme for the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) teams comprising civil and police officers was also held in the conference room of the DBRAIT today. The Nodal Officer, MCC, Shri DilkhushMeena, IAS enlightened the MCC team about their roles & responsibilities during the election. The Nodal Officer, Media, Shri Alok Kumar enlightened the trainees about video surveillance to check the expense of campaigning and to prepare a better report about violations, if any.

The Director, Panchayat & Municipal Elections sought the cooperation and active involvement of all officials involved in the election process in conduct of a smooth, free and fair elections in the Islands.