KOCHI: Soaring temperature, malfunctioning electronic voting machines (EVMs) and foreign migration of youth may have hurt voter turnout in Ernakulam, say party leaders, with anti-incumbency also being singled out as a key factor.
Voting numbers in the constituency dropped by 9.3 percentage points (pp) from 77.64% in 2019 to 68.27% in the latest round.
Humid conditions discouraged several voters, said K J Shine, the LDF candidate. “This applied to almost every constituency. For many people, it was intolerable,” she told TNIE.
Echoing the view, Congress district chief Mohammed Shiyas said the climatic conditions prevented many from showing up to vote. “In this climate, we cannot expect everyone to stand in long queues for long,” he said.
He also pointed fingers at voting delays. “Complaints were raised in several booths about glitches to the EVMs. From being previously limited to a few booths, the problem was more widespread this election. Tardy electoral officers also played a role in holding up proceedings,” Shiyas said.
“During my visit to several polling booths, I realised that several people had left without casting their franchise due to faulty EVMs and large crowds,” Shine said.
Also blaming increased migration for the drop in voter numbers, Shiyas said more and more people are moving out of the country for their studies and in search of jobs. This resulted in a significant drop in the youth vote,” he said.
“It’s possible that women voters who would have preferred a female candidate did not cast votes because they didn’t want to vote against the party they support,” Shine said.
Anti-incumbency is also a factor, stressed Shiyas. “Even many Left backers tired of the government and its policies. Such voters would have stayed away from voting,” he said. “There is a section of youngsters who are tired of the current system and therefore are reluctant to vote,” he added.
