Expenditure observer reviews poll preparedness

Vijayawada: NTR District Election Expenditure Observer B Vijay Kumar on Tuesday inspected election expenditure monitoring arrangements in Chandarlapadu, Nandigama, Kanchikacherla and Veerullapadu (Jujjuru) mandals of the district ahead of the ZPTC and MPTC elections.

During the inspections, he reviewed the functioning of Flying Squads (FS), Static Surveillance Teams (SST), maintenance of prescribed registers and other field-level arrangements in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (APSEC).

The observer directed officials to ensure that Flying Squads and Static Surveillance Teams function round-the-clock and that videographers accompany them during all field operations, vehicle inspections and surveillance activities. He stressed the need for maintaining all prescribed registers properly and ensuring transparency in election expenditure monitoring.

He instructed the Assistant Election Officers (AEOs) to regularly cross-check the Shadow Observation Register maintained by accounting teams with the actual expenditure registers submitted by candidates.

Any discrepancies, under-reporting or unaccounted expenditure should be identified and rectified immediately. Vijay Kumar also directed Video Surveillance Teams (VSTs) and Video Viewing Teams (VVTs) to closely monitor and record vehicle permissions issued to candidates, political rallies, processions and public meetings.

During the inspection, he noticed a rally involving approximately 25 people and directed officials to verify whether the organisers had obtained the required permissions. The observer emphasised that all expenditure monitoring activities should be conducted strictly in accordance with APSEC guidelines without any deviations.

He further directed Assistant Election Officers to submit Report-III to the Election Expenditure Observers by November 5, after the conclusion of polling.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dasari Srinivasa Rao

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Dasari Srinivasa Rao is a Staff Reporter with The Hans India, covering NTR and Krishna districts, with a primary focus on Vijayawada. He has 32 years of experience in journalism. His reporting spans a wide range of beats, including city and rural development, politics, irrigation, education, crime, and human-interest stories.

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