MALAPPURAM:The district witnessed one of the most complicated elections in its history on Thursday. While the polling didn’t occur at many booths, in some others it was delayed upto 5 hours due to technical snag in Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). In some places, the polling was extended till 7 pm considering the delay in beginning of the procedure.
Technical snag in the EVMs was reported from around 270 booths. The unprecedented rise in number of complaint further complicated the issue as technical support team failed to reach the booths in time due to skeletal strength. As the complaints poured in from all corners,it became difficult for the officials to manage things. A single official was supposed to address the issues at about 10 booths at a time.
“The ballot unit showed problems after casting 54 votes in the morning. Though we sought technical support by 7.50 am, the officials reached the place only at 1.40 pm. The polling resumed at 1.50 am and then the control unit stopped working after five minutes. We didn’t receive technical support even after 5 pm for the second complaint,” an official in one of the booths in Thuvoor panchayat said.
The technical problems with the EVMs caused difficulties to over 2 lakh voters.
Citing the issue, the district administration suggested the Election Commission to conduct re-polling in around 100 booths in the district.
The IUML alleged that the apathy from the side of District Collector T Bhaskaran worsened the situation. A group of IUML MLAs from the district and IUML district general secretary P Abdul Hameed called on the Collector to express their displeasure.
Meanwhile, the election to the 12 municipalities in the district went smoothly and 76 per cent voter turnout was reported.