The delay by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in putting out the final figures of polling in the first and second phases of the Lok Sabha election has generated a completely avoidable controversy. The ECI decision not to put out constituency-wise registered voter numbers is seen as a deviation from the established practice of making this data available immediately after the end of polling.
Concerns have been raised about the non-availability of constituency-wise polling percentages and the total number of registered voters in each constituency. These two figures would have helped political parties to cross-check the percentages in constituencies where polling has concluded.
The ECI’s argument that the figures relating to station-wise votes polled are recorded in Form 17 and available with all the candidates has failed to pacify those raising questions over the motive behind withholding the information from the public. Booth-level turnout data is recorded in absolute numbers in Form 17 at the end of voting in the presence of the candidates’ polling agents.
This booth-level data is consolidated at the constituency level to calculate the polling percentage. Form 17, therefore, ensures transparency and integrity of the polling data. It serves as the primary record, because the figures recorded in it cannot be altered or tampered with. The ECI has a robust system for recording and counting votes. But the delay in publishing the final polling percentage and the absence of data on constituency-wise registered voters and polling percentages has led to some avoidable questions.
The ECI’s deviation has raised concerns about transparency and accountability. The commission would do well to stick to established protocols and avoid creating unnecessary doubts in the minds of the people about the integrity of data it puts out. As an autonomous constitutional body, the ECI is duty-bound to make sure that while conducting free and fair elections it maintains transparency in its operations to ensure public trust in the electoral process.
The commission should forthwith place the data on registered voters in each constituency and the constituency-wise voting percentage on its website. This would remove doubts over differences between the provisional and final polling figures that have been released. The political parties, meanwhile, need to tone down their criticism of the commission in the interest of maintaining public trust in the electoral process and our democracy.