EXPLAINER
Right here’s how votes for India’s Lok Sabha polls might be counted utilizing EVMs on June 4.
India’s multiphase voting concluded on Saturday after seven rounds of elections over 44 days. The large electoral train – the biggest in democratic historical past – noticed 15 million polling workers travelling the size and breadth of the huge nation to conduct the vote at about 1 million polling stations, a lot of which had been situated in distant villages, hills, deserts and battle zones.
Voters have braved hovering temperatures to solid their ballots, with the seven phases – April 19, April 26, Might 7, Might 13, Might 20, Might 25 and June 1 – recording turnouts of 66.1, 66.7, 61.0, 67.3, 60.5, 63.4 and 62 p.c, respectively. An estimated 969 million folks had been registered to vote. Ballots had been solid utilizing digital voting machines (EVMs).
At stake are 543 seats within the Lok Sabha – the decrease home of India’s Parliament. Votes might be counted on Tuesday, June 4.
Right here’s how vote counting for elections works:
What time will votes be counted for India’s 2024 election?
Counting for all constituencies will start at 8am (02:30 GMT) on Tuesday, June 4.
What are EVMs?
EVMs have been utilized in India’s elections since 2004 as a substitute of paper ballots.
The Election Fee of India (ECI) developed these machines in collaboration with Bengaluru-based Bharat Electronics Ltd and Hyderabad-based Digital Company of India Ltd, each government-owned firms. EVMs are battery-powered, so electrical energy is just not wanted for his or her functioning. They don’t seem to be linked to the web.
An EVM contains two components, that are linked by way of a cable:
- Management unit: It’s operated by the polling officer on the polling sales space. It has a “poll button” which lights up a inexperienced LED on the opposite unit of the EVM, indicating the machine is prepared for voting. It reveals a “Busy” gentle whereas a vote is being solid. A “Shut” button permits no extra votes to be solid and a “Clear” button removes all information. A bit shows the overall variety of votes solid.
- Balloting unit: It’s stored within the voting compartment on the polling sales space. The candidates’ names and symbols are fed into this unit, with a blue button subsequent to every title. The unit additionally facilitates braille script to allow visually impaired voters to solid their votes with out exterior assist. Voters register their votes by urgent the blue button subsequent to their candidate of alternative. After the vote is solid, a beep sound goes off on the management unit.
Who oversees vote counting?
The ECI appoints a returning officer (RO) for every parliamentary constituency, making them answerable for vote counting.
An RO is supported by assistant returning officers (AROs), who’re answerable for counting within the meeting segments falling beneath the respective parliamentary constituency. Every parliamentary constituency is split into meeting segments comparable to the constituencies within the respective state assemblies. Most parliamentary constituencies usually include six or seven meeting constituencies.
How are votes counted?
- As voting ends, the EVMs are sealed and saved in a strongroom within the parliamentary constituency. On the day of counting, the EVMs are taken out and unsealed within the presence of representatives from all taking part political events.
- Vote counting begins with the RO counting votes by way of postal ballots. The counting of EVM votes begins half-hour after the postal poll depend. Solely the management models of the EVMs are required through the counting.
- Since there are a number of meeting constituencies inside a parliamentary constituency, vote counting for every meeting phase takes place in a single corridor the place 14 tables are arrange and management models of EVMs are distributed among the many tables.
- The variety of halls or tables could be elevated if there’s numerous candidates. However it requires the electoral physique’s prior permission. Counting also can happen in a couple of location inside the meeting constituency beneath the supervision of an ARO.
- Earlier than counting, a number of checks are carried out to make sure that the management models are sealed, assigned appropriately and functioning correctly.
- In every spherical, votes registered in 14 EVMs are counted and the outcomes are introduced and written on a blackboard connected to every desk earlier than the following spherical of counting.
- The votes are counted by counting supervisors and counting assistants on every desk, who’re appointed by the RO by way of a randomisation course of.
- The management unit of the EVM incorporates a “Outcomes” button to show the variety of votes every candidate acquired. It additionally reveals the overall variety of candidates per constituency.
- When the Outcomes button is pressed, the EVM shows votes secured by candidates one after the other, indicated by beep sounds. The management unit reveals “Finish” after the candidates’ vote numbers are displayed.
What’s the VVPAT system?
This ECI launched the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Path (VVPAT) system in 2013 to construct voters’ confidence within the EVMs.
A VVPAT is linked to the management unit and the balloting unit of an EVM by way of cables. After a voter casts their vote, the VVPAT generates a corresponding paper slip, which is seen to the voter for about seven seconds to substantiate that the vote was solid correctly. These slips then fall right into a drop field.
The Congress and another opposition events have been demanding that VVPAT slips be counted to tally votes for all polling stations throughout the nation as a measure in opposition to vote rigging. The ECI has rejected the demand. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court docket of India has directed the ballot physique to match the VVPAT slips from 5 randomly chosen meeting segments with outcomes from respective EVMs.
When will the election outcomes be introduced?
Preliminary traits and subsequent outcomes begin coming in quickly after the counting begins. The ultimate outcomes of India’s normal election will seemingly be introduced on the night time of June 4 or the morning of June 5.
The place to verify India’s 2024 Lok Sabha election outcomes?
The ECI will publish the outcomes on its web site. Al Jazeera may also be bringing you reside outcomes, up to date with the most recent from the ECI, on June 4.
