Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 | 'Final data after counting': CEO on delay row over turnout figures as it reaches 79.63%

Thiruvanathapuram: Kerala chief electoral officer Rathan Kelkar has said that the voter turnout in Kerala assembly elections so far is 79.63 percent and since postal voters are still being received the voter turnout could further increase.

He also rejected the criticisms of the Congress and the CPI(M) over the delay in publishing the final voter turnout.

The total voter turnout at polling booths was 78.27 percent and considering the total postal ballots received so far the total voter turnout as of now is 79.63 percent, he said.

Kelkar came out with the clarification close on the heels of opposition leader V D Satheesan sending a letter to the Election commission of India expressing concerns that the delay in publishing the assembly constituency wise details of voter turnout could affect the transparency of the conduct of elections. Satheesan urged that the voter turnout at polling stations as well as the details of postal votes should be promptly published.

Kelkar said that there was no deliberate delay in publishing the data and the final data on voter turnout would be formally published only after the counting as postal ballots still keep on coming.

Details of the votes polled at each booth were handed over to the agents of candidates and representatives soon after the polling on April 9. Representatives of political parties were involved in all stages of the election process.

SIR effect

Kelkar, who earlier anticipated that the voter turnout may touch an all time high of 90 percent, said that the reasons for the voter turnout not going up as expected need to be examined. However, the increase in voter turn out compared to the previous general elections could be the outcome of the special intensive revision (SIR), he said.

In the 2021 Kerala assembly elections the total voters were 2.74 crore while the total voter turnout was 2.03 crore.

This time while the total voters came down to 2.71 crore, the voter turnout already increased to 2.12 crore. As per the election commission the voter turnout in 2021 was 74.06 percent, which has now increased close to 80 percent.

The total number of voters in Kerala had come down by 8.9 lakhs after the special intensive revision.