EC Tells Supreme Court There’s No Mandate To Publicize Booth-Wise Final Voter Turnout Data

In a notable development, the Election Commission (EC) informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that there is no legal obligation to publicly release final voter turnout data from all polling stations, except to candidates and their agents. This clarification was made in an affidavit in response to a request from the non-governmental organization Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which had sought the release of final voter turnout figures within 48 hours of polling for transparency.

 

The EC expressed concerns that publishing detailed turnout figures, including those from Form 17C which records postal ballot counts, could lead to public confusion. The Commission emphasized that while turnout data from individual polling booths is shared with candidates' agents on the day of voting, broader public dissemination might be misinterpreted and could disrupt the electoral process.

 

The EC criticized ADR’s request, suggesting it created an unnecessary sense of entitlement that could undermine the electoral process by sowing confusion and suspicion. The affidavit stated, "Disclosure of Form 17C in the public domain might not only confuse voters about the actual votes polled but also give rise to baseless speculations and aspersions on the electoral process."

 

This filing followed a Supreme Court decision where a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta dismissed ADR’s earlier petition calling for a return to ballot papers and dismissed concerns about the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The EC reiterated its commitment to transparency through existing statutory mechanisms and rejected allegations of irregularities in voter turnout figures as unfounded.

 

The Commission also addressed claims of potential tampering with EVMs and alleged increases in voter percentages days after polling, labeling these accusations as habitual and baseless attempts to discredit the electoral process.

 

The Supreme Court is set to hear the case on May 24, following the completion of five out of seven phases of polling. The EC underscored previous Supreme Court rulings that bar any court intervention in electoral processes through petitions or applications while elections are ongoing, arguing that ADR’s current application is not maintainable under these precedents.