Delhi Polls: 62.59 per cent voter turnout, delay due to multiple scrutiny of ballot, says EC

New Delhi, Feb 09: The final voter turnout in the Delhi polls was 62.59 per cent, senior officials said on Sunday, a day after elections were held to the 70-member assembly.

"The final voter turnout was recorded at 62.59 per cent," Delhi's chief electoral officer Ranbir Singh said.

"The highest voter turnout was recorded in Ballimaran assembly constituency at 71.6 per cent while the lowest voter turnout was recorded in Delhi Cantonment at 45.4 per cent," Singh said.

Responding to claims by Kejriwal, the poll officer said that it is "not unusual or uncommon" for the voter turnout to be officially declared the day after elections.

"Voter turnout data is submitted by returning officers who were busy throughout the night, then they became busy in scrutiny. It has taken a little bit of time but, in data entry, it is very important to ensure accuracy," he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Kejriwal had said it was "absolutely shocking" that the poll panel did not come out with the figure several hours after polling got over.

"Absolutely shocking. What is EC doing? Why are they not releasing poll turnout figures, several hours after polling?" Kejriwal had tweeted.

In 2015, Delhi's overall voter turnout was 67.47 per cent. In 2013, 65.63 per cent of eligible Delhiites turned out to vote and the figure in the 2008 elections saw the lowest at 57.58 per cent.

Meanwhile, the rise in the number of women voters has been a developing trend in recent years.

Exit polls on Saturday predicted an easy win for the Aam Aadmi Party, which sought to retain power on development plank, against the BJP that ran an aggressive campaign centred around the issues of anti-CAA protests and nationalism.

Counting of votes in Delhi is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11.