Unusual slowness in voting, low voter turnout, will verdict also change?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There is a strong allegation that polling in the state came down due to the unusual situation where voting got extended till 11 pm in Vadakara and till 8 pm in many other places. Concerns were also raised that this would influence the results of the elections. The opposition has demanded an investigation into the matter.

The Election Commission is claiming that polling lasted till 8 pm only in four per cent of booths. However, fronts are saying that this is not true. Kerala had recorded a polling percentage of 77.67% in the previous elections. This time, it has come down to 71.16%.

Many people who arrived at polling booths before 6 pm had to wait until late at night to vote. Several people, including women, returned without voting. While it is said that six to eight people can vote in one minute, only an average of two people were able to vote in a minute. It generally takes less than 10 seconds for a person to vote.

Officials made the moves slowly because of allegations about VVPAT and the case. As there was webcasting in most of the polling booths, special care was taken to avoid lapses. Most booths required a voter to leave the room after casting his vote before allowing another voter to enter. To avoid external interference in assigning officials, duty was fixed using order software. As a result, inexperienced officials were assigned to several problematic booths.

It is reported that machine failure did not cause a delay in polling. Only 0.44 per cent of the ballot units and control units and 2.1 per cent of the VVPATs were faulty.

70000 votes in Vadakara after 8 pm
5 percent voting was recorded after 8 pm in Vadakara where polling lasted till 11 pm. The polling percentage was 73.09% at 8:00 p.m. By 11 a.m., it increased to 78.08%. There are 14.21 lakh voters in Vadakara. It is estimated that 70000 votes were cast in the last three hours. It is alleged that there was widespread open voting.

Polling 71.6% (Polling percentage of 2019 within brackets)

Thiruvananthapuram : 66.46 (73.66)
Attingal : 69.40 (74.4)
Kollam : 68.09 (74.66)
Pathanamthitta : 63.35 (74.24)
Mavelikkara : 65.91 (74.23)
Alappuzha : 74.90 (80.25)
Kottayam : 65.60 (75.44)
Idukki : 66.53 (76.34)
Ernakulam : 68.27 (77.63)
Chalakudy : 71.84 (80.25)
Thrissur: 72.79 (77.92)
Palakkad : 73.37 (77.72)
Alathur : 73.20 (80.42)
Ponnani : 69.21 (74.98)
Malappuram : 72.90 (75.49)
Kozhikode : 75.42 (81.65)
Wayanad : 73.48 (80.33)
Vadakara : 78.08 (82.67)
Kannur : 76.92 (83.21)
Kasargod : 75.94 (80.65)