Election Commission plans faster, more transparent turnout updates ahead of Bihar polls
Following criticism over past delays, the Election Commission has revamped its voter turnout reporting system. Presiding Officers will now directly enter turnout figures into the ECINET app every two hours on polling day, ensuring faster and more accurate updates. This revised process, to be implemented before the Bihar assembly elections, aims to reduce reporting delays and improve transparency.
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Nearly a year after facing flak over delays in publishing voter turnout (VTR) data during the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission has overhauled its reporting system to ensure faster and more transparent updates.Under the new mechanism, the Presiding Officer (PRO) at each polling station will now enter turnout figures directly into the ECINET app every two hours on polling day. The data will be automatically aggregated at the constituency level, allowing the EC to continue publishing approximate turnout trends every two hours, as earlier - but with greater accuracy and reduced lag.The revised process will be implemented ahead of the Bihar assembly elections scheduled later this year. A key change is that PROs will now enter the final turnout data into ECINET immediately after polls close, before leaving the polling station. This is expected to significantly reduce the reporting delay and make constituency-wise turnout data available promptly on the VTR app, subject to network availability.In areas with poor connectivity, offline entries will be synced once the network is restored. The updated VTR app will be integrated into ECINET ahead of the Bihar polls, the poll panel said.Previously, voter turnout data was collected manually by Sector Officers and shared with Returning Officers via calls, SMS, or messaging apps. This often led to delays of 4-5 hours - or more - before turnout trends could be published, contributing to confusion and misperceptions in some quarters.Under the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 (Rule 49S), Presiding Officers (PROs) are legally required to provide Form 17C -- a record of votes cast -- to polling agents at the close of voting. While this statutory provision remains unchanged, the ECI has overhauled the parallel, non-statutory system used to provide approximate voter turnout data through the VTR App.The Commission reiterated that while the approximate trends shown in the VTR App are for public awareness, the official and final data will continue to be based on Form 17C.The initiative is part of the ECI's ongoing commitment to timely public communication, a priority repeatedly highlighted by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
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