The Election Commission of India announced on Thursday that it would revert to the norm of declaring postal ballot results before the completion of the counting of EVM votes.
The EC revised the standing instructions to chief electoral officers, saying: “The penultimate (second last) round of EVM/ VVPATs counting shall not be taken up until the counting of postal ballot papers is completed at the counting centre.
"However, in the case of a parliamentary constituency, if counting of votes at the Assembly segment level is carried out across multiple counting centres, the penultimate round of EVM/ VVPAT counting need not cease at all centres until the postal ballot counting is finished. At centres where postal ballots are not being counted, AROs for Assembly segments shall continue counting votes in EVMs regardless of the postal ballot counting stage. The penultimate round of EVM/VVPAT counting shall only be halted at the centre where postal ballot paper counting is in progress, and only until its completion."
The counting of postal ballots begins at 8am and the counting of EVMs begins at 8.30am. During and before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the results of the postal ballot count were announced before those of the EVMs.
After the 2019 polls, the EC felt that this was delaying the process as there were more postal ballots than earlier. Senior citizens have been using the home voting facility in greater numbers.
Also, the mandatory count of paper audit trails of five polling stations in every Assembly segment can take place only after the EVM count results are announced.
While the start of the counting time for postal and EVM votes remained the same as earlier, the EC allowed the EVM count to be announced as and when it was completed, irrespective of the status of the postal count.
However, the Opposition parties had protested against the change of the norm and repeatedly alleged foul play and vulnerabilities in the counting of postal ballots.
In 2020, the new norms led to an outcry in Bihar, where polls were held during the pandemic, and a recount of postal votes was done in the Hilsa Assembly seat. The Janata Dal United defeated the Rashtriya Janata Dal by 12 votes in an election where 182 of the 551 postal voters were declared invalid.
In July this year, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam reiterated the demand to return to the pre-2019 norms.
The EC’s decision comes at a time when it is mulling a more consultative approach with political parties in light of the nationwide special intensive revision of electoral rolls, which is expected to be announced soon after the Supreme Court decides upon pleas against the process in Bihar.