The slow polling process that the State witnessed in the 18th Lok Sabha elections held on April 26 (Friday) has by and large disappointed political parties irrespective of their winning chances. The blame for the unusual delays in the polling is on election officials and the technology involved.
“The problem, as far as we know, was in the setting of the voting machines. It took more than usual time for a vote to be processed by the machine. This was frustrating,” said Syed Abid Husain Thangal, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and MLA of Kottakkal.
A security officer guarding a sealed strongroom containing the electronic voting machines at SSM Polytechnic, Tirur. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] district secretariat member and Malappuram Parliament committee secretary V.P. Anil said the delay in the beep sound that the machine gave after voting was confusing. “I had to wait confusedly for several seconds for the beep sound to come. The technology is to blame for the delay,” added Mr. Anil.
BJP district president Ravi Thelath said the introduction of VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) unit with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) from the last election had slowed down the polling process. “VVPAT as well as the summer heat and Friday Juma played a role in the delay,” said Mr. Thelath.
IUML leader and former MLA Abdurahman Randathani said the Election Commission should review the reasons for the delay. “The machines were slow. And, officials did not rise to the occasion to circumvent that slowness,” he added.
Many booths across the State had long queues of voters when the official polling time ended at 6 p.m. All those who reached the booth were allowed to vote, and the polling process continued till late night. There were some booths where the polling went beyond 11 p.m. Several voters went back in frustration after standing in queue for hours.
“There may not be any foul play in the delay. But the inefficiency and inexperience of some polling officials may have aggravated the situation. Yet, people stood in queue patiently to exercise their franchise,” said E.T. Mohammed Basheer, United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate in Malappuram.
However, UDF district chairman P.T. Ajay Mohan accused the government of causing the delay by slowing down the process. He said the inefficiency of the polling officials was evident. “There were some booths that did not even have the form for open votes,” he added.
Above and beyond the technical reasons, the roasting summer heat too played a role in delaying the ballot. A large number of people chose to vote after 4 p.m., causing the queues to lengthen beyond the 6 p.m. deadline. “Weather was a major issue,” chorused Mr. Thangal and Mr. Thelath.
