Thiruvananthapuram: Eleven days after the conclusion of voting in Kerala, the Election Commission has come under severe scrutiny for its unprecedented delay in releasing the final polling percentages.
In a departure from previous elections, the official and audited figures for the total number of votes cast remain unavailable to the public.
A week ago, the Chief Electoral Officer, Dr Rathan U. Kelkar, provided an approximate figure of 79.63%, but a definitive tally is yet to be confirmed. Officials state that the counting of service votes and those cast by election duty personnel has not been finalised. The current stance is that state-level data will only be released once approved by the Central Election Commission, with some officials suggesting that precise figures may only emerge after the formal counting of ballots.
Allegations of "mystery" and technical failures
Opposition parties have reacted with fury, alleging a "mystery" behind the delay. According to preliminary data released by the Commission itself, over 10,000 election officials were reportedly unable to cast their votes-a matter that is currently being deliberated by the High Court.
Adding to the controversy, the software used to manage postal ballots has reportedly gone offline. For the past two days, the portal which stores the applications and data for postal ballots uploaded from district centres, has been inaccessible.
Returning Officers and District Collectors across all 140 constituencies rely on this site for critical election instructions and postal vote tracking. The sudden technical blackout has left many questioning the transparency of the process.
The delay has sparked concerns regarding the integrity of the data, as stakeholders demand immediate clarity on why digital infrastructure and basic accounting are failing nearly a fortnight after the polls closed.