The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced 62.59% as overall final Delhi voter turnout in Saturday’s 8 February Assembly elections voting but the EC’s ‘Voter Turnout’ app is still showing it to be a “provisional voter turnout data”.
So, is the turnout data final or provisional?
In a rare delay, the EC declared the Delhi elections voter turnout data almost 24 hours late i.e. on Sunday evening (9 February).
EC’s explanation for the delay in the announcement: ‘To avoid speculation.’
“They did not want to speculate and wanted to give exact figures... So, returning officers worked throughout the night to check data to ensure it is accurate. It has taken a little bit of time but, in data entry, it is very important to ensure accuracy.”Ranbir Singh, Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer justifies the delay in announcement but on the other hand, the EC’s own Voter Turnout app showed it as ‘provisional’. Why this contradiction?
Why the Word ‘Provisional’ Makes a Huge Difference?
After 2019 Lok Sabha Elections results were declared in May last year, The Quint reported on a mismatch in the number of EVM votes polled and votes counted in 370+ constituencies. But the EC defended the discrepancies on the ground that votes polled data were provisional and were subject to change. Hence, it did not match with the final votes count.
Now, if any discrepancy is observed in the votes polled and counted on 11 February for the Delhi election, will the EC once again defend itself by using the word ‘provisional’?
Based on The Quint’s report on 2019 Lok Sabha elections discrepancies, the Association For Democratic Reforms (ADR) had filed a petition in the Supreme Court on 15 November 2019 demanding “a court order directing the Election Commission of India (EC) to conduct actual and accurate reconciliation of (votes) data before the declaration of the final result of any election”.
The SC issued notice to the Election Commission of India seeking an explanation on the petition.
"It is difficult to reconcile that on one hand the EC’s authorities claim that they have taken time because they wanted to release authentic data and on the other hand the app says it is provisional. It is confusing at its best."Jagdeep Chhokar, Member, Association for Democratic Reforms
Why Percentage and Not Number of Votes Polled Announced by EC?
Another important aspect that needs attention is that after 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the EC had not released the number of votes polled in each constituency. Instead, percentages of votes polled were released.
The question is – why is the EC adopting arbitrary changes in the process of announcing the votes polled data?
Is the discontinuation of publication of actual number of votes polled at any booth/constituency and replacing it with a percentage figure an attempt to cover up discrepancies after results are declared?
As mentioned earlier, The Quint has reported discrepancies in votes polled and votes counted in the Lok Sabha 2019 elections.
Moreover, as per the election process, the Returning Officers share Form 17C that reflects number of votes polled with political parties’ polling agents immediately. Then why couldn’t the EC make the same data public?
The Quint has written to the Election Commission of India for a response. We will update the article with the response as and when we get it.
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