Prayagraj: Over 80% of eligible voters exercised their franchise in the Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) elections on Thursday. Of the 11,724 registered voters, 10,050 cast their votes amid tight security arrangements.A total of 263 candidates are in the fray for 30 office-bearer posts.Chief returning officer and senior advocate SFA Naqvi said the polling was conducted smoothly and peacefully. He added that the voting period was extended by 30 minutes, till 5.30 pm, as polling had started late in the morning.Returning officer Vashistha Tiwari said counting is expected to begin after two days.The district administration had ensured adequate police deployment to facilitate smooth conduct of the election and manage traffic in the surrounding areas.As part of the arrangements, 20 entry gates were set up for lawyers to access the polling venue. CCTV cameras, along with AI-assisted monitoring tools, were deployed to ensure free and fair polling.The high-profile contest for the post of president has attracted eight candidates, while 14 contenders are in the race for the post of general secretary.The election was conducted in accordance with the association’s 33% reservation policy for women, ensuring adequate female representation.The posts being contested include one president, one senior vice-president, six vice-presidents (four male and two female), one general secretary, two treasurers (one male and one female), four joint secretaries (three male and one female), and 15 governing council members (10 male and five female).
