SC seeks ECI's response on voter turnout data delay

The Supreme Court seeks a response from the Election Commission regarding the delay in publishing voter turnout data in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra granted the ECI one week to respond, scheduling the next hearing for May 24.

 

An NGO, the Association for Democratic Reforms, filed an application alleging undue delay in the release of voter turnout data for the first two phases of polling. The application highlights a significant discrepancy between the initial turnout percentages and those later released by the Election Commission.

 

The plea requests the Election Commission to promptly upload polling station-wise data after each phase of polling, along with constituency-wise figures of voter turnout.

 

Additionally, it seeks the publication of candidate-wise results and the tabulation of votes polled in Form 17C Part-I and Part-II on the ECI website.

 

According to the application, voter turnout data for the first two phases was published on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling on April 19 and four days after the second phase on April 26.

 

It notes a substantial increase of approximately 6% in Phase I and 5.75% in Phase II compared to the initial percentages announced on polling day.