Delhi Elections: ‘Final Voter Turnout 62.59%,’ EC Releases Poll Figures After Delay

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday questioned the Election Commission over the unusual delay in the release of the voter turnout data.

New Delhi: After a daylong delay, the Delhi Election Commission, on Sunday, evening released the final voter turnout figure and said that the poll percentage in Delhi was recorded at 62.59% marking a fall as compared to that of the previous assembly poll. Alleging a conspiracy, the Aam Aadmi Party had launched an attack at the EC earlier in the day, over the delay in the release of the poll figures. "The final voter turnout was recorded at 62.59 per cent," Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said. In the 2015 Assembly polls, Delhi had recorded a voter turnout of 67.47 per cent. Singh said there is a shortfall of five per cent with respect to the previous assembly elections. He further informed that the highest voting of 71.6 per cent was reported from the Ballimaran constituency, while the lowest turnout was in Delhi cantonment, which reported 45.4 per cent polling. "Voter turnout data is submitted by returning officers who were busy throughout the night, then they became busy in scrutiny. It has taken a little bit of time but, in data entry, it is very important to ensure accuracy," he said. Watch: EC releases final voting data Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had questioned the Election Commission over the unusual delay in the release of the voter turnout data. Taking to Twitter, the Delhi CM wrote: “Absolutely shocking. What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?” The data is usually released on the same evening of the polls. The last voting percentage given by the commission on Saturday night was 61.46 per cent. The voting in the national capital to elect a new government ended at 6 pm on Saturday. Talking to reporters, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that this is perhaps the first time in the country's history that the Election Commission is not ready to release voter turnout data.