Kerala Assembly Polls: FSETO Alleges Discrepancies in Election Commission’s Postal Ballot Data
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The Federation of State Employees and Teachers Organisation (FSETO) has leveled grave allegations against the Election Commission over the recently held Kerala Assembly Elections. The association has claimed significant discrepancies in the officially released data regarding postal ballots for polling officials.
The Federation contends that the figures provided by the Commission do not reflect the ground reality of the recent elections. In a statement, the FSETO asserted that the official tally regarding postal votes is factually incorrect and pointed out that a total of 20,145 polling officials—who were on active duty—were unable to exercise their right to vote due to procedural lapses or administrative errors.
The organisation further stated that the denial of voting rights to such a large section of government employees and teachers is a serious blow to the democratic process.
They have demanded a transparent audit of the postal ballot distribution and collection process to account for the missing votes of the affected officials. As of now, the Election Commission has not issued a formal response to these allegations.
However, in a social media post, the chief electoral officer of Kerala called the allegations “factually incorrect and misleading.”
“Voter turnout was given every 2 hours on the poll day – 9thApril 2026, and the detailed constituency-wise polling percentage was also released immediately after close of poll, based on Presiding Officers’ reports at 10.22pm on the same day. Subsequently, the turnout information was published on 10th April 2026,” the chief electoral officer pointed out.
The officer further noted that all Assembly Constituency–wise voter turnout data with respect to the General Elections to Kerala Legislative Assembly 2026 has already been placed in the public domain through official press note on April 13th.
“A press conference chaired by the Chief Electoral Officer Kerala was also held on April 13th, 2026, for presenting the same. Further, comprehensive data on postal ballots—including absentee voters (85+), persons with disabilities, essential services, and voters on election duty district wise — has also been officially published and shared with public on April 13th, 2026,” the social media post added.
