SHILLONG/TURA: The overall voter turnout for the two parliamentary seats of Shillong and Tura stood at 67.38 per cent and Selsella by-poll at 82 per cent till Thursday.
Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Kharkongor said the figure was based on inputs from 2,500 polling stations and 644 booths in remote areas are yet to send inputs.
There were 107 polling stations, especially in South Garo Hills, South West and West Khasi Hills, which were accessible only by foot.
Out of the 19.14 lakh electorate in the state, 12,81,164 voters exercised their right to franchise.
Stating that the election was largely peaceful in 3,167 polling stations, the CEO added that in Shillong, the overall voter turnout was 63.56 percent and in Tura it was 75.60 percent.
“Though the voter turnout in 2014 Lok Sabha polls was 68 per cent with 10,77,948 voters coming out to vote, numerically there was more voter turnout (12,81,164) this time,” Kharkongor said.
Hence, the official said there is an improvement in the overall voter turnout in 2019 Lok Sabha elections compared to 2014 general elections in terms of number of voters.
He also added that there were very few technical snags in the EVMs and VVPATs, adding the error percentage in ballot unit and control unit was 51 per cent each, respectively, while the error in VVPATs was 1.76 per cent.
Expressing his happiness over the large turnout of PwD voters in the state, he however informed that there were no takers for the queue management app which was developed to allow voters to see the number of people standing in queue in a polling station.
The CEO also appreciated the role of Matdan Mitra, or poll volunteers who were present at select booths.
The final poll percentage for Tura could touch as high as eighty percent once the final figure from all polling stations are taken into account.
Polling was peaceful across the five districts of Garo Hills with no untoward incidents having been reported from any of the polling stations where voters queued up to cast their ballot on Thursday morning.
Tura Lok Sabha seat consists of 24 assembly segments.
“Polling percentage has touched 75.60 percent and it will rise further because we are yet to get reports from many remote polling stations,” said returning officer Ram Singh in Tura as preparations were afoot to receive the sealed EVMs and VVPATs being brought in by the polling parties from different parts of Garo Hills.
EVM and VVPAT glitches were reported from several polling stations in different districts but election officials said the incidents happened when polling began and they could replace the machines quickly.
Among the five districts that went to polls for Tura Lok Sabha constituency, early reports indicate that there was a high voter turnout in South West Garo Hills district which consists of three MLA seats.
“Polling percentage touched 77 percent and it may rise another 10 percent because many polling parties have not been able to give their voting figures,” said the returning officer.
Preliminary reports said that Ampati assembly segment reported 81.74 per cent, Mahendraganj 64.17 per cent and Salmanpara 85.99 per cent.
He informed that at several polling stations voting went beyond the stipulated time due to the queue. “Some polling stations like Chigatchakgre, Tarapara and others, polling took place after 4 pm,” said the deputy commissioner.
The voters who stand in line before the 4 pm deadline are eligible to cast their votes.
West Garo Hills which consists of the largest number of assembly seats, also registered high turnout. Early reports from the returning officer said
the district percentage is 70 which can rise further.
There was high voter turnout in the twin constituencies of South and North Tura early on Thursday morning and late afternoon. Polling stations like Pechon Memorial School in the heard of Tura town’s main market area witnessed long queues in the morning hours while even at rural Rengsangre polling station under Rongram block as many as 402 out of 522 voters had already cast their ballot by 1 pm.
In East Garo Hills district (three constituencies), early reports state Songsak had crossed 60 per cent, Rongjeng 55 per cent and Williamnagar 52 per cent.
“These are all tentative figures because we are yet to get the final percentage which will rise further,” said deputy commissioner Swapnil Thembe from Williamnagar.
South Garo Hills district was the most difficult for polling reports to trickle in due to its remoteness and vast jungle region. Election officials revealed that due to its remoteness dozens of polling stations were unable to send back word during the day to the district headquarters.
“We initially received news of only 35 per cent polling but that is slowly changing and we expect the final figure to cross the 60 per cent mark,” informed election officials from Baghmara.
Reports from North Garo Hills district that has four assembly segments also mention of good voting percentage that is likely to cross the 70 per cent mark.
Selsella by-poll
The voter turnout in the Selsella by-poll is 82 percent.
Kharkongor said the by-election too was incident free.
The four candidates who are contesting the by-poll are Ferlin Sangma (NPP), June Eliana R. Marak (Congress), Adorsho Sangma (BJP) and Sayeedullah Nongrum (UDP). The by-poll in Selsella constituency was necessitated following the death of former Congress MLA Clement Marak last year.
