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Polling peaceful in Ernakulam

KOCHI: Polling was peaceful in Ernakulam, one of the three Assembly constituencies in the State where byelections were held on Saturday. No untoward incidents were reported from any part of the district. The polling percentage in the constituency stood at 64.64. There were 137 polling booths.

Polling began on a slow note in the morning. At 9 a.m., only 6.7 per cent of the electorate had exercised their franchise. In the Assembly elections held in 2006, around 7 per cent had voted by that time.

But polling picked up momentum and surged to 16 per cent by 10 a.m. Long queues were seen at many booths after 9.30 a.m. The constituency recorded a fluctuating voting pattern, as the voting percentage reached only 22 at 11 a.m.

Polling turned brisk between 11 a.m. and 12 noon, with the voter turnout going up by 9 percentage points. When the figures were taken at 12 noon, 31 per cent of the electorate had cast their votes.

Breaking expectations that the voting percentage might go up in the afternoon, the turnout slowed down drastically in the afternoon. At 1 a.m., the voting percentage was 39 and it could not move up considerably, with only 46 per cent exercising their franchise by 2 p.m.

The momentum failed to pick up, as only 4 per cent of the voters turned up between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. When the figures were taken at 4 p.m., 58 per cent of the voters had cast their votes in the constituency.

District Collector M. Beena said an electronic voting machine was replaced immediately after it developed a snag at the polling booth (no.69) at St. Albert’s Upper Primary School. She said the problem was detected early and the polling began without any delay.

Pointing out that the election machinery worked without any hiccups, Dr. Beena said that police personnel from outside the State were deployed at sensitive and critical booths in the district.

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