The Election Commission on Wednesday cleared the air on proxy votes for Defence personnel by indicating that the affidavits need not be on judicial papers. EC spokesperson A.N. Jha said service personnel, who need to choose a proxy to cast his vote, has to first get his signature attested by the commanding officer. Armed forces personnel, some of whom met EC officials on Wednesday, had requested that the proxy also get his/her signature attested by the same commanding officer. Though the EC did not agree with the proposal, it has agreed that the proxy voter can get his/her signature attested by either a first-class magistrate or notary. However, the EC specified that the proxy voter has to be related to the personnel.
