Section 18 in Assam Panchayat (Constitution) Rules, 1995
18. Appointment of Presiding Officers and Polling Officers.
(1)The Deputy Commissioner or the Sub-Divisional Officer as the case may be, shall appoint a Presiding Officer for such Polling station and such number of Polling Officer as he may consider necessary for conducting the elections under these Rules, but he shall not appoint any person who has been working for a candidate in election:Provided that if a Polling Officer is absent from the Polling Station, the Presiding Officer may appoint in writing any person, who is present at the Polling station, other than a person who has been employed by or on behalf of or has been otherwise working for a candidate in or about the election, to be the Polling Officer during the absence of the former officer and the Presiding Officer shall inform the Deputy Commissioner of the Sub-Divisional Officer as the case may be accordingly.(2)The Polling Officer shall, if so directed by the Presiding Officer, perform all or any of the functions of a Presiding Officer under these rules or orders made thereunder.(3)If the Presiding Officer, owing to illness or unavoidable circumstances is compelled to absent himself from the Polling Station, his functions shall be performed by such Polling Officer as may have been authorised by the Deputy Commissioner or the Sub-Divisional Officer as the case may be, to perform such functions during such absence(4)In these rules in respect of the Presiding Officer shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to include any person performing any function which he is authorised to perform under sub-rule (2) or sub-rule (3) as the case may be.
