Mysore/Mysuru: The Mysuru District Administration has started training the master trainers in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), rules and regulations as prescribed by the Election Commission of India, maintaining and managing the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems and technicalities and protocols to ensure a free and fair elections for the upcoming Assembly polls.

Senior officials of the Election Commission are imparting training to the master trainers, who will organise further training programmes at the booth level for officials to be engaged in poll duty. Master trainers were informed about the detailed process.

One such training programme for master trainers was inaugurated at Kiru Rangamandira in city by Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra, who is also the District Electoral Officer.

The training aims to build the capacity of officers to be trainers, equipped with comprehensive knowledge and skills in electoral laws, regulations, voting and counting process, as well as acknowledge the obligations and responsibilities of polling officers, observers, and the media.

Special instructions have been passed on to the trainers to handle the poll process in the booths that have been classified as sensitive and hyper-sensitive. There are 2,905 polling booths and 50 percent of them are under CCTV surveillance. 

 After the completion of the training, the master trainers will give training to polling officers, presiding officers and polling booth officers. “Free and fair election is the cornerstone of democracy,” the DC said and appealed to the master trainers to update themselves on the election processes and technicalities so that they clear the doubts of the people who they train next.

The DC also remarked that one small mistake can affect the entire election process and asked the officials to be alert and careful and to minutely sensitise polling personnel in their respective booths and taluks and encourage them to cooperate fully with the District Administration, Police, sector officers, etc., for smooth flow of the election process.

Master trainers Dr. Mangala Murthy, Hemalatha, Ramesh and others were present.