'Unusual & worrying': Opposition questions ECI over delay in release of final voter turnout figures

‘Unusual & worrying’: Opposition questions ECI over delay in release of final voter turnout figures

NEW DELHI: Hours after the Election Commission released the final voter turnout of first two phases of Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday, the opposition leaders questioned the dealy in the publishing of final figures.

The leaders further raised suspicion over non-disclosure of actual number of votes polled in each constituency.

According to ECI, voter turnout for the first and second phases were 66.1% and 66.7% respectively. In 2019, voter turnout in the first phase was 69.4% and second phase polling was 69.2%.

‘Percentages are meaningless unless….’

Raising apprehensions of “manipulation of results”, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury asked the EC, “But why are the absolute numbers of voters in each Parliamentary constituency not put out? Percentages are meaningless unless this figure is known.”

In a post on X, Yechury said, “Apprehensions of manipulation of results continue as total voter numbers can be altered at the time of counting. “

The Red party member also pointed out that “total number of voters in each constituency was always available on ECI website till 2014!”

‘What is unusual and worrying this time is…..’

Questioning the delay in the release of data, political activist and farm leader said, “I have watched and studied Indian elections for 35 years now. While a difference of 3 to 5 % points between initial (polling day evening) and final turnout figures was not abnormal, we used to get the final data within 24 hours.”

In a post on X, he pointed out two “unsual” events- “delay of 11 days (for phase 1 and 4 days for phase 2) in publishing the final figures, and non-disclosure of the actual number of electorate and votes polled for each constituency and its segments. Percentages do not help in electoral audit.”

“Yes, this information is recorded in Form 17 for each booth and is available with the candidates agent, but ECI alone can and must give the aggregate data to eliminate any possibility of fudging or discrepancy between voted polled and votes counted,” he added.

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