Election Commission says ‘false campaign’ being run to discredit Lok Sabha polls
The poll body claimed that ‘unfounded attempts’ are being made to compare the approx turnout of voters at 7pm on poll day with the ‘end of poll turnout’.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday said that a false campaign was being run with a design to discredit the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“False campaign is being run by some (other than candidates) in furtherance of design to discredit largest elections ever held in the history of mankind in a most transparent manner involving candidates/ stakeholders at every stage of elections,” the ECI posted on X.
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The poll body claimed that ‘unfounded attempts’ are being made to compare the approximate turnout of voters at 7 pm on poll day with the ‘end of poll turnout’, which is made available a day after polling ends.
“Unfounded attempts are made to compare approx turnout fig at 7 pm on poll day (when many PS might be closing poll &/or voters waiting in queue)with ‘End of Poll’ turnout available a day after poll day,” it wrote.
“While legitimate means to challenge an electoral outcome by a candidate or elector is through an Election Petition u/ RPA 1951, no EP is reportedly filed on such grounds. A lesser number of EPs have been reportedly filed in 79 PCs in GE 2024 as against 138 EPs in GE 2019," it added.
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The clarification comes a day after the Congress cited a report by a citizens’ platform, which has raised questions about the substantial hike in the Lok Sabha voting turnout percentages and urged the Election Commission to address the concerns.
Vote for Democracy (VFD) Maharashtra in a report released in Mumbai last month had claimed significant discrepancies between the votes polled and counted as well as a "substantial unexplained hike" in the turnout percentages, according to PTI.
Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit had urged the poll body to address the doubts raised in the 'Vote for Democracy' report.