After the polling is over, all the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are sealed and taken to a secure place. A few days later, on a fixed date, all the EVMs from a constituency are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are counted. The agents of all candidates are present there to ensure that the counting is done properly. The candidate, who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency, is declared elected. In a general election, usually the counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to who will form the next government.