The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the plea of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on May 17, ensuring transparency and accountability in the electoral process. The plea seeks real-time publication of polling data by the Election Commission, including voter turnout figures at the polling station and constituency levels.
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New Delhi: Today( May 13): The Supreme Court scheduled a hearing on May 17 for a plea filed by an NGO demanding the Election Commission to immediately upload voting data on its website after the conclusion of each phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta announced that the case will be listed on Friday following a request for urgent listing from advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The NGO aims to ensure transparency and prevent electoral irregularities by making polling station-wise voter turnout data available to the public.
The NGO, in its 2019 PIL, filed an interim application urging the Election Commission to upload scanned copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) immediately after the conclusion of the polls. It further requested the commission provide tabulated data of polling station-wise and constituency-wise voter turnout figures in absolute numbers for the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The primary objective of the plea is to safeguard the integrity of the democratic process by addressing concerns related to electoral irregularities. The NGO highlighted the delay in releasing the voter turnout data for the initial two phases of the ongoing elections.
“The NGO requested the Election Commission to furnish tabulated polling station-wise data, detailing the absolute number of votes polled as recorded in Form 17C Part-I after each phase of polling in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Additionally, they sought a tabulation of constituency-wise figures of voter turnout in absolute numbers for the ongoing elections.”
The Election Commission published the data on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling on April 19 and four days after the second phase on April 26.
According to the NGO’s petition,
Data released by the Election Commission on April 30 showed a significant increase (approximately 5-6%) compared to the initial percentages announced on the day of polling. This substantial revision, coupled with the prolonged delay in releasing the final voter turnout data, has raised public suspicion and concerns regarding the accuracy of the information provided.
The non-disclosure of the absolute number of votes polled, along with the unreasonable delay in releasing the voting data, has led to apprehensions among the electorate regarding the notable increase between the initial data and the data released on April 30.
READ ALSO: Publish Lok Sabha Election Votes within 48 Hours: ADR Moves To SC Over “Inordinate Delay”
“These concerns need to be addressed promptly to reassure voters. To maintain voter confidence, it is imperative that the ECI be instructed to publish clear and readable scanned copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) from all polling stations, containing authenticated figures for votes polled, on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling.”
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