In Kerala, Chief Electoral Officer Dr. Rathan U Kelkar has mandated that no strong or unsealed rooms containing polling materials should be opened until vote counting is complete. This decision follows protests from the Congress party after a room was opened in Kozhikode, raising concerns over electoral integrity.

• 01The Chief Electoral Officer has prohibited the opening of strong or unsealed rooms until vote counting is finalized.
• 02The controversy began after a room storing polling materials was opened in Kozhikode, prompting protests from the Congress party.
• 03Clarifications from election officials stated the opened room was not a strong room for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
• 04A similar incident in Palakkad district led to further scrutiny and a directive to maintain strict compliance with election protocols.
• 05The integrity and transparency of the electoral process are central to the CEO's directives.

The directive aims to protect the integrity of the electoral process, ensuring that no unauthorized access occurs to polling materials before the counting of votes.