(1) The Returning Officer shall exclude from the place fixed for the counting of votes Admission to under rule 22 a person except- the place of counting.
(a) such Government servants as he may appoint to assist him in the counting;
(b) every candidate and his/her counting agents;
(c) public servants on duty; and
(d) member of the State Election Commission or any other person authorised by it.
14 The Arunachal Pradesh Extraordinary Gazette, July26, 2011 Scrutiny and 60.
opening of ballot boxl electronic voting machines.
Scrutiny and rejection of ballot paper.
Counting of votes.
(2) Any person, who during the counting of votes misconducts himself/herself orfails to obey the lawful directions of the Municipal Returning Officer may be removed from that place where the votes are being counted.
(3) The number of counting agents of candidates shall not exceed the number of counting tables, fixed for the counting of votes of the ward plus one more for the table of the Municipal Returning Officer.
(4) Every appointment of counting agent(s) shall be made in Form 33 in duplicate, one copy of which shall be forwarded to the Municipal Returning Officer while the other copy shall be made over to the counting agent for production before the Municipal Returning Officer at the time of counting.
The Municipal Returning Officer shall on the date and at the time and place fixed under provision of section 67 of the Act. and shall deal with the ballot boxl electronic voting machines in the following manner, namely:-
(a) all the ballot-boxes used at a polling station shall be opened at the same time;
(b) before any box is opened at the counting table the candidates or their agents shall be allowed to inspect the paper seal or other seals, as have been fixed thereon and to satisfy themselves that the same are intact;
(c) the Municipal Returning Officer shall satisfy himself/herself that none of the ballot box/ electronic voting machines has in fact been tampered with; and
(d) if the Municipal Returning Officer is satisfied that any ballot boxl electronic voting machine has in fact been tampered with he/she shall not count the ballot papers of that box and shall follow the procedure specified under section 63 of the Act, in respect of that polling station.