THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid complaints from the LDF and the UDF of ‘delay’ in updating the state’s overall voter turnout figures, the Election Commission on Monday revised the state’s provisional polling percentage to 79.63% from 78.27%.
The revised turnout factors in 3.68 lakh postal votes in various categories. The updated figures were announced by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO)-Kerala Rathan U Kelkar, four days after the elections on April 9.
Kelkar said the turnout figures will be updated again on the counting day after accounting for the electronic ballots of 53,984 service voters. “The final turnout figures will be available only after the EC releases the index card after the counting of votes. Until then, the figures are provisional,” he said.
The postal ballots that have been newly accounted for include votes cast from home by senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs). In the senior citizen category, the voter turnout was 96.3%, while 97.71% of the voters in the PwD category cast their ballots from home. The overall turnout in the home voting category stood at 96.72%.
In the essential services category, which includes personnel drawn from various government departments, 32,172 of the 34,140 electors cast their postal ballots, taking the overall voter turnout in the category to 94.24%.
Kelkar said 1.34 lakh officials on polling duty opted for postal ballots while some cast their votes on EVMs in their respective constituencies where they were posted for duty. The overall voter turnout in this category was 96.37%. “A total of 3.68 lakh postal ballots have been received by Returning Officers in 140 constituencies across the state,” he said.
‘Process done with utmost accuracy’
“This constitutes 1.36% of the total electorate, taking the overall provisional voter turnout figure to 79.63%,” Kelkar said.
On the delay in updating the figures, Kelkar said accounting for the 3.68 lakh postal ballots is a “massive exercise” that needs proper cross-checking and validation at various levels. “The time taken was to complete due process with utmost accuracy,” he said. In the 2021 Kerala assembly elections, the panel had revised the turnout figures on April 10, four days after the close of polls.
Earlier, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan wrote to the EC, expressing concerns over the delay in publishing official data on the April 9 elections. “Prompt release of such information is crucial to ensuring transparency, enabling public scrutiny and maintaining trust in electoral process,” the letter said. Minister V Sivankutty had also flagged public concerns over the transparency of the whole process.
On the criticism from parties that over 60,000 polling officials were unable to vote, Kelkar said all eligible voters were provided the opportunity. He said such officials could adopt legal recourse if they feel they have been denied the chance to exercise their franchise.