The EC stated that a voter turnout of 66.14 percent was recorded in phase one and 66.71 percent in phase two of the ongoing polls.
Election Commission of India (ECI) (Wikimedia Commons)
The Congress, CPI(M) and the TMC on Tuesday, 30 April, criticised the Election Commission over the delay in publishing the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls.
The commission in the evening made public the voter turnout of the first and second phases of polling held on 19 April and 26 April.
The EC stated that a voter turnout of 66.14 percent was recorded in phase one and 66.71 percent in phase two of the ongoing polls.
Voting for the general elections is being held in seven phases, the remaining are on 7 May, 13 May, 20 May, 25 May, and 1 June. Counting of votes will be taken up on 4 June.
“Finally, ECI (Election Commission of India) has put out the final voter turnout figures for the first two phases which are substantially, not marginally as is normal, higher than the initial figures,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on X.
“But why are the absolute numbers of voters in each parliamentary constituency not put out? Percentages are meaningless unless this figure is known,” he said.
Finally ECI has put out the final voter turnout figures for the first 2 phases which are substantially, not marginally as is normal, higher than the initial figures.
But why are the absolute numbers of voters in each Parliamentary constituency not put out? Percentages are… pic.twitter.com/WolBmyfnDa— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 30, 2024
Yechury alleged that apprehensions of manipulation of results continue as total voter numbers can be altered at the time of counting. Total number of voters in each constituency was always available on ECI website till 2014 and the commission must be transparent and put out this data, he said.
“I’m talking of absolute number of registered voters in each constituency not the number of polled votes which will be known only after postal ballots are counted. Why is the total number of voters in each constituency not being put out? ECI must answer,” he added.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien on X said, “Important. Four days after phase two ends, Election Commission releases final voting figures. A bump up (jump in turnout) of 5.75 percent from what EC released 4 days ago.”
“Is this normal? What am I missing here?” he asked.
Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it is essential for the ECI to be timely and transparent about all election-related data, and it should come out with the figures and make them public.
“For the first time, even 11 days after the first phase of the polls and four days after the second phase, the final voter turnout has not been published by the ECI. In the past, ECI used to publish the final voter turnout immediately after voting or within 24 hours. Only approximate polling figures are available on ECI’s website. What accounts for this delay,” he asked in a post on X.
For the first time, even 11 days after the first phase of the polls and four days after the second phase, the final voter turnout has not been published by the ECI. In the past, ECI used to publish the final voter turnout immediately after voting or within 24 hours. Only…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 30, 2024
O’Brien had earlier alleged, “(Prime Minister Narendra) Modi got the law changed in Parliament to get his own umpire and destroy the Election Commission.” Now, after two phases, the ECI is yet to disclose final polling data, he said.
“Why the delay? The first two phases didn’t go well, did they? And EC, why no press conference after every phase,” he asked.
O’Brien was referring to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which provides for the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners by a panel excluding the Chief Justice of India.
The law has provisions for a Selection Committee, chaired by the prime minister, leader of the opposition and a Union minister, to make recommendations to the President for appointment of CEC and election commissioners.
Yechury had said, “This is very disturbing. Raises serious apprehensions on manipulation of results.”
“ECI has not disclosed the final polling figures of the first two phases. Only approximate polling percentages are put out. Total voters registered in a parliamentary constituency are not on ECI website. Percentages announced are, hence, meaningless and misleading,” he said.
Officially sharing the turnout figure, the poll panel said in phase one of the elections, 66.22 percent of male and 66.07 female electors turned up to vote. The turnout for registered third-gender voters stood at 31.32 percent.
In the 2019 polls, the turnout in the first phase stood at 69.43 per cent.
In the second phase of elections held on 26 April, the male voter turnout was recorded at 66.99 percent, while the female turnout stood at 66.42 percent. As many as 23.86 percent of the registered third-gender voters came out to vote.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in phase two, the turnout was 69.64 percent.
In phase one, 102 seats went to poll, while in phase two elections were held in 88 constituencies.
According to the poll panel, out of 21 states and union territories which went to polls in the first phase, 11 recorded a higher turnout of women voters. These are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
In the second phase where 13 states and UTs went to poll, six registered a higher women voter turnout. These are Assam, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Kerala and West Bengal.
The EC made it clear that the final turnout will only be available post-counting with the counting of postal ballots and its addition to the total vote count.
Postal ballots include postal ballots given to service voters, absentee voters— those above 85 years of age, persons with disabilities, those on essential services and voters on election duty.
Daily accounts of such postal ballots received are given to all candidates, it noted.
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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