Amid concerns, ECI releases seat-wise voter turnout in five phases of LS polls

NEW DELHI: Amid concerns about dissemination of voter turnout data, the Election Commission of India (ECI) release absolute number of voters for the first five phases of polling in the Lok Sabha election 2024. Reiterating that polling data has always been accessible to both candidates and the public, ECI said it has taken note of a pattern of "creating false narratives and mischievous design to vitiate electoral process".

The action of the Election Commission comes after the Supreme Court rejected various petitions demanding that the Election Commission should be instructed to publish the Form 17-C detailing the number of votes in each polling station on the website. The election commission has officially released the figures including the voting percentage and the number of voters in the five phases so far through a press release.

The official press release issued by the commission pointed out that no one can change the figures in Form 17C given to the polling agents of all the candidates. The commission added that through the official app launched for the public, the voting data will be available to the candidates and the public 24 hours a day.

“The Commission feels duly strengthened by the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s observations and verdict on the process of release of turnout data by the Election Commission of India,” the ECI said in a release.

The seventh and final phase of polling will be held on June 1 and counting of votes will be held on June 4.