Press Release
Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has addressed a letter to Shri. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India raising concern over delays and discrepancies in the release of voting figures by the Election Commission of India.
We are herewith releasing the text of the letter.
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May 3, 2024
The Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commission of India
New Delhi
Sir,
It is really surprising that after an inordinate and unexplained delay of eleven days the final figures for the percentage of votes cast during the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections have been made available. In the case of the second phase the delay was four days.
Unfortunately, the ECI has not come out with any explanation for the cause of this undue delay. What goes unanswered is also a surge of 6 per cent from the initial figures that the ECI put out and the final figure. While it is plausible that there may be a slight variation between the initial and the final figures, this variation of six percent is unusual and raises some suspicion. Also, while the percentages have been disclosed, the voting figures (number of votes polled) have not yet been provided.
In the interests of transparency and credibility of the process, it is incumbent that the ECI clear the doubts that have arisen in this regard. It should provide state-wise, constituency-wise and assembly segment wise break-up of the initial and final percentage as also the number of votes cast. Further, it also needs to be clarified as to how much under which category this rise has taken place – EVMs, Postal Ballots, votes at Facilitation Centres for personnel on duty etc.
Yours truly
(Sitaram Yechury)
General Secretary