Kerala Assembly Polls: Voter turnout touches 79.63% after postal ballots; final data pending: CEO

The voter turnout in the Assembly polls in Kerala has been pegged at 79.63% after including postal votes, with service votes yet to be added. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rathan U Kelkar, addressing a press conference on Monday, said the Election Commission had earlier released a provisional turnout of 78.27%, which, he clarified, was based solely on data available through ECINET. 

Kelkar noted that the current figure was still not final, as service votes were yet to be included. “The number of service voters will be finalised only on the counting day. The Election Commission of India (ECI) will publish an index card after counting, which will carry the exact data of votes in all categories, constituency-wise. This index card is treated as the final record,” he said.

According to him, the total number of postal ballots stood at 3,68,193 across categories, including senior citizens, persons with disabilities, essential service staff, and voters on election duty. Service votes were yet to be added to this count. Postal ballots currently accounted for 1.36% of the total electorate, taking the turnout to 79.63%.

Kelkar was addressing a media briefing in Thiruvananthapuram amid repeated queries from political parties and the media over the delay in releasing the final turnout figures even four days after polling. Kerala went to the polls on April 9, and the provisional turnout of 78.27% was released the same day through ECINET.

This delay has caused serious unrest among political circles in Kerala in the backdrop of earlier allegations that a delayed release of final voting figures is an indication of vote tampering. Economist Parakala Prabhakar had earlier pointed out that there were serious discrepancies in the voter turnout figures of the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections. On the day of polling, it was 68%. But five days later, it shot up to over 80%. Prabhakar alleged that a substantial chunk of voting took place at midnight, which he said was highly unlikely.

"A total of 53,984 service voters have been issued postal ballots, which can be returned until the counting day. Among specific categories, 1,40,219 senior citizens (aged above 85) out of 1,45,604 eligible cast their ballots, recording a turnout of 96.3%. Among persons with disabilities, 60,734 out of 62,159 voted, marking a turnout of 97.71%. Overall, home voting stood at 96.72%. In the essential services category, 32,172 out of 34,140 voters cast their ballots, registering a turnout of 94.2%," Kelkar said.

“The fourth category is voters on election duty. As many as 1,35,068 polling officials cast their votes. Those on duty in their respective constituencies had the option to vote through EVMs at their booths, and that count is recorded through Form 17C,” Kelkar added.