Counting for Sikkim, Arunachal assembly begins
Gangtok (PTI): Counting of votes for 32 assembly seats in Sikkim began on Sunday, amid tight security arrangements, officials said.
The counting was underway at one location each in all six districts of the state.
Postal ballots will be taken up first for counting while votes in the EVMs will be counted later, officials said.
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, his spouse Krishna Kumari Rai, ex-Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, former Indian footballer and SDF leader Bhaichung Bhatia, state BJP president DR Thapa, Speaker Arun Upreti and senior minister Lunga Nima Lepcha are the prominent candidates among 146 nominees.
Tamang and Chamling are contesting from two assembly constituencies.
An estimated 80 per cent of the 4.64 lakh voters exercised their franchise on April 19.
An additional four per cent of votes were cast through postal by government officials and employees, the CEO office said.
Tamang is contesting from the Rhenock and Soreng Chakung constituencies, while Chamling is in the fray from the Namcheybung and Poklok Kamrang seats.
Bhaichung Bhutia, the SDF vice-president, is contesting from the Barfung assembly constituency.
The state unit BJP president DR Thapa is seeking re-election from Upper Burtuk.
Chief Minister Tamang's wife Krishna Kumari Rai is contesting from the Namchi Singhithang seat, while Speaker Arun Upreti is in the fray from the Arithang constituency.
Counting begins for 50 assembly seats in Arunachal
Counting of votes for 50 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh began on Sunday with a massive security cover in place, an election official said here.
The counting commenced in 24 district headquarters at 6 AM amid heavy rain across the state and the final results are expected to be out by noon, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain said.
Assembly and Lok Sabha elections were held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh in the first phase of polls on April 19.
The northeastern state has 60 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats. The ruling BJP has already won 10 assembly seats unopposed.
“Counting of postal ballots will be conducted first which would be followed by counting of votes in EVMs,” Sain said.
The counting process would be managed by over 2,000 officials.
"A three-tier security arrangement has been made in all counting centres," he said.
An estimated 82.71 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the assembly polls while the turnout for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state was recorded at 77.51 per cent.
Votes polled in the two Lok Sabha seats in the state would be counted on June 4 along with the rest of the country.
The BJP had won both the Lok Sabha seats and 41 assembly constituencies in the 2019 polls. The JD (U) had won seven assembly seats, the NPP five, Congress four and the PPA one. Two Independent candidates had also emerged victorious.
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WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo, Uganda
Abuja (Nigeria) (AP): WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths.
In a post on X, the World Health Organisation said the outbreak does not meet the criteria of a pandemic emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and advised against the closure of international borders.
Ebola is highly contagious and can be contracted via bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen. The disease it causes is rare, but severe and often fatal.
Health authorities have confirmed the current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare variant of the Ebola disease that has no approved therapeutics or vaccines. Although more than 20 Ebola outbreaks have taken place in Congo and Uganda, this is only the third time the Bundibugyo virus has been reported.
Congo accounts for all except two of the cases, both of which were reported in neighbouring Uganda, the WHO said.
Officials first reported the spread of the disease in Congo's eastern province of Ituri, close to Uganda and South Sudan, on Friday. On Saturday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 336 suspected cases and 87 deaths.
“There are significant uncertainties regarding the true number of infected persons and geographic spread associated with this event at the present time. In addition, there is limited understanding of the epidemiological links with known or suspected cases,” Tedros said.
Uganda on Saturday confirmed one case it said was imported from Congo, and said the patient died at a hospital in Uganda's capital, Kampala, and the WHO said that a second case has been reported in Kampala. The two cases had no apparent links to each other, and both patients had travelled from Congo, it added.
The Bundibugyo virus was first detected in Uganda's Bundibugyo district during a 2007-2008 outbreak that infected 149 people and killed 37 people. The second time was in 2012 in an outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were reported.
WHO's emergency declaration is meant to spur donor agencies and countries into action. However, the global response to previous declarations has been mixed.
In 2024, when the WHO declared mpox outbreaks in Congo and elsewhere in Africa a global emergency, experts at the time said it did little to get supplies like diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines to affected countries quickly.
