May 23rd 2024.
On Wednesday, the Election Commission appeared before the Supreme Court to address concerns regarding the disclosure of polling station-wise voter turnout data. The Commission expressed its reservations about making this information public and posting it on their website, citing potential chaos in an already busy election season.
According to the Commission, publicly sharing Form 17C, which details the number of votes polled in each station, is not required by law and could lead to misconduct and tainting of the electoral process. They also refuted claims of a 5-6% increase in voter turnout during the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, stating that there is no evidence of such discrepancies.
In response to a plea from an NGO, the Association of Democratic Reforms, asking for the Commission to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data within 48 hours of each phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the Commission filed a 225-page affidavit. They argued that granting this request would not only go against legal norms but also disrupt the ongoing election process.
The Commission also pointed out that the petitioner has failed to provide any specific instances where such data has been used in electoral petitions in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. They emphasized that the allegations made by the petitioner are based on mere suspicion and lack concrete evidence.
Furthermore, the Commission explained that the current legal framework does not allow for the widespread disclosure of Form 17C, as it can easily be manipulated and cause mistrust in the electoral process. As of now, the original Form 17C is only available in the strong room and a copy is given only to the polling agents, creating a one-to-one relationship between each form and its possessor.
The Commission also highlighted the potential risks of publicly posting this information, such as the possibility of tampering with the data and creating public discomfort and mistrust in the election results. They also clarified that giving a copy of Form 17C to any entity other than the polling agent is not permitted by the current rules.
In a previous hearing on May 17, the Supreme Court had asked the Election Commission to respond within a week to the plea made by the NGO. The ADR had filed a PIL seeking directions for the Commission to upload scanned copies of Form 17C Part-I for all polling stations immediately after the polls, in an effort to prevent any electoral irregularities.
The ADR argued that the delayed release of the voter turnout data for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, which was only published 11 days after the first phase and four days after the second phase, has raised concerns and suspicion about the accuracy of the data. They also expressed concerns about the non-release of the exact number of votes polled and the significant increase between the initial data and the data released on April 30.
Overall, the Commission firmly stated that the indiscriminate disclosure and public posting of polling station-wise voter turnout data on their website is not only against legal norms but also poses a threat to the integrity of the electoral process.
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