Sikkim results expected by 1 p.m.

Gangtok, May 15 (IANS) Results for Sikkim's lone Lok Sabha seat and the 32 assembly constituencies are expected to be known by 1 p.m. Saturday, an election official said Friday.

According to the joint chief electoral officer (CEO) C.P. Dhakal, counting shall begin at 8 a.m. and all the results from all the four districts are expected to be out by 1 p.m.

He said they had kept an extra hour in case there were any technical problems, and anticipated to complete the process by 2 p.m.

Dhakal said adequate measures for an incident-free counting process were in place. Two companies of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have been stationed at all the four counting stations here in the state with additional personnel of the state police to maintain order.

As many as 167 candidates are in the fray for the 32 assembly seats and five for the Lok Sabha seat.