Page 3 - Election Comission

Seizures worth Rs 130 cr made during J&K polls: Chief Electoral Officer

A total of 1,263 violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) were reported and cash and other materials worth Rs 130 crore were seized during the ongoing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, according to poll officials. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P K Pole said that the police department has made the highest seizure at Rs 107.50 crore. Out of the total 1,263 MCC violations reported till date, 600 stand closed after enquiry and taking appropriate action, he said. He said 364 complaints are under investigation which too will be disposed of soon besides notices have been issued to 115 candidates, political parties, media houses and others for alleged MCC violations. Taking stern action against illegal activities involving drugs, cash and liquor, the enforcement agencies have registered 32 FIRs, the CEO said. "Seizures worth a total of Rs 130 crore have been made by different enforcement agencies in J-K during ongoing assembly elections 2024 till now," Pole said. Giving detai

J&K Assembly polls: Second phase of polling witnesses over 56% turnout

The second phase of polling in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections saw a voter turnout of over 56 per cent on Wednesday, with the democratic exercise passing off peacefully amid tight security. While there was significant participation in key constituencies in 26 seats spread over six districts with long queues of voters at polling stations since early morning, 20 of these segments recorded a marginally lower turnout than in the 2014 assembly elections, when the overall voting was 60 per cent. The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer P.K. Pole announced a preliminary turnout figure of 56.05 per cent, stating that it might change as polling continued in some areas, including Hazratbal and Reasi. He emphasised that the election proceeded smoothly, with only minor incidents ...

Days after EC's directive, J-K transfers officials ahead of Assembly polls

The Jammu and Kashmir administration has transferred several officials, including deputy commissioners, a couple of weeks after the Election Commission directed the poll-bound states to transfer out officers posted in their home districts. The Election Commission will announce the schedule for assembly elections on Friday afternoon. However, it is still not clear for which states the election schedule will be announced. The poll panel plans to hold assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir before September 30, the deadline set by the Supreme Court. Late on Thursday night, the general administration department of Jammu and Kashmir issued orders for 89 transfers and posting with immediate effect. The transfers include those of deputy commissioners of Poonch and Bandipora districts, secretaries, commissioners, director generals, managing directors, and directors of several departments. The Election Commission of India on July 31 asked the Union Territory administration to transfer out offi

EC team in J-K to meet political parties, review state's poll preparations

A team of the Election Commission of India is set to review on Thursday the preparedness for assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir and take feedback from political parties, officials said. The team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar arrived here this morning and is set to meet with representatives of political parties at the Sheri Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). The office of the chief electoral officer, Jammu and Kashmir, had on Tuesday issued letters to various political parties, inviting them for a meeting with the ECI. The political parties have been given time slots for the meeting with the Election Commission. Representatives of various political parties, including the National Conference (NC), People's Democratic Party (PDP), BJP, Congress, and Jammu and Kashmir Panthers Party arrived at the SKICC to meet the ECI team, the officials said. Several senior officials of police and civil administration, including J-K Chief Electoral Officer P K Pole, a

Trump campaign files complaint against Biden funds' transfer to Harris

The Trump campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission arguing that money raised for US President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection bid could not be transferred to Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. The complaint was filed on Tuesday by the Trump campaign's general counsel David Warrington and argues that transferring the funds to Harris's presidential campaign would amount to flagrantly violating" the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. On Sunday, President Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the race for the White House on November 5 and endorsed Harris amid mounting pressure from top Democrats and donors following his disastrous presidential debate against Trump in late June. "Kamala Harris is seeking to perpetrate a USD 91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden's leftover campaign cash a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campai

ECI gives aggrieved candidates choice on how they want to check EVM

Aggrieved candidates, who have applied for Supreme Court-directed checking of EVMs for tampering post Lok Sabha and assembly results, have been given various choices by the Election Commission, including picking machines from any polling station in an assembly segment and opting for a mock poll and mock VVPAT slip count. According to standard operating procedure issued on Tuesday by the Election Commission, the candidates who came number two and three have been given a vast number of random tests to choose from. The Election Commission said that by going beyond controlled environment check and verification process of burnt memory eliminates the possibility or apprehension of any bias or hidden functionality in the firmware. The Election Commission has received eight applications from aggrieved candidates, including those from the BJP and the Congress, for verification of tampering or modification in micro-controller chips embedded in the EVMs post declaration of the Lok Sabha electi

Ensure full transparency of EVMs or abolish them: Rahul Gandhi to EC

Raising questions on the reliability of EVMs, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asked the Election Commission to ensure complete transparency of the machines and processes or abolish them. The demand came a day after the Congress leader had alleged that the electronic voting machine is a "black box" and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them while further alleging that serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process. "When democratic institutions are captured, the only safeguard lies in electoral processes that are transparent to the public," Gandhi said in a post on X. "EVM is currently a black box. EC must either ensure complete transparency of the machines and processes or abolish them," the former Congress president also said. Another Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said, "Before treating the Electronic Voting Machines as infallible, the Election Commission of India should put out data on how many Electronic Voting Machines were found faulty ...

68% of candidates in J-K's 5 Lok Sabha seats polled fewer than NOTA votes

Sixty-eight per cent of the total 100 candidates in the fray on Jammu and Kashmir's five Lok Sabha seats polled fewer than None Of The Above (NOTA) votes, according to Election Commission data. Cumulately, 34,788 voters pressed the NOTA button in the five seats, showing their rejection of the candidates fielded by parties. The maximum 12,938 NOTA votes were polled in the Udhampur constituency of Jammu region, a seat retained by BJP candidate Jitendra Singh. There were 11 other candidates in the fray from Udhampur, and NOTA polled more votes than nine of them. In the neighbouring Jammu seat, 4,645 voters pressed the NOTA button, which is more than votes individually garnered by 18 candidates. There were 22 candidates in the fray from the seat which has been retained by the BJP's Jugal Kishore. In the Srinagar seat, the number of NOTA votes was 5,998. There were 24 candidates in the fray from the constituency and most of them -- 18 -- got fewer votes than NOTA. In the Anantnag-Rajo

65.79% voter turnout recorded in 2024 elections, postal ballot pending

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar reported that 642 million voters exercised their franchise between April 19 to June 1

Who ordered you to slow down Lok Sabha election results, Congress asks EC

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh questions Election Commission on delays in vote counting

INDIA bloc to meet Election commission to discuss counting norms today

Ahead of the counting of votes for Lok Sabha elections, a delegation of opposition INDIA bloc leaders will meet the full bench of Election Commission of India on Sunday. Sources said the opposition leaders will discuss counting norms with the ECI, and also ask them to ensure that the laid down procedures are followed. On Saturday, senior leaders of the INDIA bloc met in New Delhi to discuss their strategy for the counting day, even as the TMC and PDP skipped the meeting. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who presided over the meeting, said they would meet the ECI on Sunday "to discuss certain issues". Opposition parties have asked their agents to monitor the process closely on the counting day on Tuesday, and ensure that form 17C, which contains the number of votes recorded at each polling station, is shared with them.

S Africa's election authority to declare results June 2 despite Zuma threat

South Africa's Independent Electoral Commission said it will continue to declare on Sunday afternoon the final results of the country's general and provincial elections despite threats to postpone the process to allow further submissions on alleged irregularities. At a media briefing late on Saturday, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) CEO Mosotho Moepya confirmed that the authority will work through the night to resolve the 579 objections that have been received in order to proceed with the scheduled declaration, at which President Cyril Ramaphosa will speak. Moepya expressed confidence in the transparency of the systems put in place by the IEC to ensure "credible, free and fair elections". Earlier in the evening, former president Jacob Zuma, speaking on behalf of 26 of the smaller parties in the election, called on the IEC to allow them more time to lodge what he said were many more "serious" objections that the parties needed to prepare information on, although he did not sha

Lok Sabha elections: Nearly 67 per cent voter turnout in first four phases

The Election Commission informed that voting has concluded in 379 constituencies, completing the electoral process in 23 States and Union Territories in the initial four phases

LS polls 2024: EC rescues 3 kidnapped TDP polling agents in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena on Monday said three TDP polling agents who were allegedly kidnapped in Chittoor district have been traced and secured. According to a press release from the CEO's office, the TDP agents were kidnapped from Bokaramanda village in Chittoor district's Sadum mandal, which falls under the Punganuru Assembly constituency. "TDP district in-charge Jagan Mohan Raju complained that TDP agents belonging to polling stations 188, 189 and 199 were kidnapped by YSRCP leaders while going to the polling stations," said Meena. Consequently, the CEO noted that Chittoor district election officials and the Police department responded quickly, rescuing the kidnapped agents from Pileru and later enabled them to attend to their duties. Further, Meena observed that a probe is underway to identify the kidnappers. Simultaneous polls for 25 Lok Sabha and 175 Assembly seats are underway in Andhra Pradesh today.

EC's reaction to Kharge's letter 'inappropriate, unwarranted', says Gehlot

The Election Commission's reaction to a letter by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to INDIA bloc partners expressing concern over delays in releasing voter turnout figures for the first two poll phases was "completely inappropriate and unwarranted", former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Saturday. The commission on Friday, in a response to Kharge's letter, called it an attempt to push a biased narrative under the guise of seeking clarifications. In a post in Hindi on X, Gehlot said, "The language of the letter of the Election Commission, which came on the legitimate questions raised by @kharge ji, seems more like that of a political party than a constitutional institution. Instead of working with its responsibility, the Election Commission is seen standing with one party in these elections and that is creating doubts in the minds of the common people." He added that such a reaction is not good for the Election Commission's image. "It is surprising that the Election .

TMC to file complaint with EC against NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma

The Trinamool Congress on Friday said it will file a formal complaint with the Election Commission against National Commission for Women's chairperson Rekha Sharma over allegations of atrocities on women in West Bengal's Sandeshkhali. NCW had recommended to President Droupadi Murmu that President's rule be imposed in West Bengal over alleged violence and atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali. "TMC will go to the Election Commission against Rekha Sharma, who is the chairperson of National Commission for Women," West Bengal minister and TMC spokesperson Shashi Panja said. Some videos on Sandeshkhali went viral which were shared by TMC. PTI did not verify the authenticity of the videos shared by TMC. Panja said that the TMC has already filed complaints against BJP and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari before the EC over such allegations.

Phase 3 Lok Sabha elections 2024: What was the voter turnout at 9 am?

In the Phase 3 of the Lok Sabha elections 2024, 93 out of 543 constituencies have gone to polls in 11 states and Union Territories. Votes will be counted on June 4

Concerns on low voter turnout 'myth'; focus on absolute numbers: Report

Terming concerns on low voter turnout in the first two phases of 2024 general elections a "myth", an economist at the country's largest lender SBI has said comparing the absolute number of votes cast is a better way to analyse the turnout. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the group chief economic adviser at SBI, said there has been 0.4 per cent increase in the absolute number of votes cast in the first two phases. "The unending debates propagated around supposedly low voter turnout in the first two phases of the General Elections 2024 is a myth. A better measure of votes cast is the absolute number of voters," he said in a report. The Election Commission has been working to increase the voting percentage in the remaining phases of the polls. Ghosh, who is also a part time member of the 16th Finance Commission, said the voting is about 3.1 percentage points below the trend observed in the last general elections of 2019, but was quick to add that the numbers can "swell" in the remaining 5 phases

LS polls: ECI orders repolling at 6 outer Manipur stations on April 30

Earlier, re-polling was held in 11 polling stations of the Inner Manipur constituency on April 22, after multiple incidents of violence were reported during the first phase of polling on April 19.

Are BJP, Congress serious about the fiscal autonomy of gram panchayats?

Transferring items from Concurrent list to State list is not enough to give more powers to the latter