Guwahati: The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday announced the total number of voters for six out of the seven completed phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The statement came amidst the ongoing sixth phase of voting, with the final phase set for June 1. The EC also addressed concerns about false narratives and attempts to disrupt the electoral process.
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This announcement follows a Supreme Court decision to delay hearing petitions that sought the release of detailed voter turnout data, including votes cast and rejected, until after the elections. The petitions had requested the EC to compile and publish this data on its website after each voting phase.
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The EC said that it was confident in its role, emphasizing its commitment to upholding electoral democracy.
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It further assured that the process of releasing turnout data since the elections began on April 19 has been accurate and consistent with election laws.
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Dismissing allegations of delays, the EC stated that voter turnout data has been available on its voter turnout app from 9:30 am on each polling day. The app provides estimated turnout every two hours until 5:30 pm, with updates continuing after 7:00 pm as polling parties return. By midnight, the app shows the best estimated ‘Close of Poll’ (COP) data in percentage form.
The EC explained that the data attains finality in the days following the poll, depending on the arrival of polling parties and any necessary re-polls. Different media organizations report the data at various times according to their schedules.
During a Supreme Court hearing, opposition leaders, including Mahua Moitra and Congress’s Pawan Khera, voiced concerns about potential vote fraud.
They said that there may be an increased number of votes after polling could be illegally added to the tally of one political party.
Justices S Narasimha and Sanjay Karol noted that the interim appeal by the petitioner, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), resembled a 2019 writ petition by Moitra, which sought the EC to mandate reporting of Form 17C within 48 hours for Lok Sabha elections.
Justice Datta questioned ADR on the connection between the 2019 and 2024 applications and why a new writ petition had not been filed.