Replying to a question on whether any problems occurred at the commencement of the voting and whether all the staff were in their posts, the Chief Returning Officer said that “the staff have been at the polling stations since 6 a.m., as said earlier in his statement.

He noted that there had been a need to replace a small number of officers, which was expected, either due to personal reasons or because they were diagnosed with COVID-19. He clarified that, in all such cases, they were replaced on time by the Returning Officers.

He added that, according to information provided by the Returning Officers, “the staff arrived on time in all polling stations and these have been opened as planned”.

“As I have said, the competent services of the state have ensured that the road network is accessible, so that voters may go to the polling stations to exercise their right to vote unhindered”, the Chief Returning Officer concluded.