EC Releases Absolute Vote Numbers For Five Phases Of Election

The Election Commission has released the absolute number of voters polled for all the completed phases. As per the EC data, a total number of 55.7 million ( 55,710,618) votes have been polled so far. After releasing the numbers, the poll body asserted that there is a pattern in creating false narratives and mischievous designs to vitiate the electoral process. 

The EC has said that any alternation in the number of votes polled is not possible. In phase 1, 110 million (110,052,103) votes were polled; in Phase 2, 105 million (105,830,572); in Phase 3, 113 million (113,234,676); in Phase 4, 122 million (122,469,319); and in Phase 5, 55.7 million (55,710,618) votes were polled. 

However, the poll numbers were released a day after the Supreme Court refused to issue directions to it on an NGO’s plea for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on its website. 

The Election Commission has said that they have decided to further expand the format of turnout data to include the absolute number of voters in every parliamentary constituency. 

It further added that the absolute numbers are discernable parliamentary constituency-wise by all citizens by applying the turnout percentage to total electors, both already made available in the public domain.

Even though the Election Commission has been issuing turnout percentages, there have been demands to make the actual number of voters in every phase public. 

Electors are those who are part of the electoral roll and eligible to vote. Meanwhile, voters are those who cast their votes during the election. 

The poll body addressing the issue of delays in publishing the turnout data said that near real-time information was always accessible to both the public and candidates through its Voter Turnout App. The app, available since the start of polling on April 19, provides hourly updates and final figures by midnight on each polling day.