Low voter turnout in first phase of Gujarat Assembly polls

Voter turnout in the first phase was 60.2%, lower than the 65% turnout in the same regions in the 2017 polls, with several Saurashtra districts recording low voting rates

An old woman with a kid came out after casting her vote at Limdi Village, Gujarat during the first phase of the State Assembly elections on December 01, 2022. | Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

A low turnout marked the first phase of voting in the Gujarat Assembly elections, with the 89 seats in Saurashtra and south Gujarat which went to the polls on Thursday registering a turnout of 60.2%. In the 2017 elections, more than 65% turnout was registered in these districts. 

“The polling has concluded peacefully in the first phase of Assembly elections today,” said Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer P. Bharathi

According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), voting halted in a few places due to the malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines as well as control units and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs). The faulty units were replaced and the process resumed. 

In Saurashtra districts such as Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Bhavnagar, the turnout remained low compared to the last Assembly polls. Tapi district in South Gujarat recorded the highest voting turnout of 72.32%. The tribal-dominated district comprises the two Assembly constituencies of Vyara and Nizar. With 68.09% turnout, Narmada district stood second.