Election Commission increases polling time by an hour

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India has accepted a proposal to increase the time allowed for voting, extending it by an hour in the evening.

According to senior EC officials who spoke to ETon condition of anonymity, the electoral watchdog took this decision in the backdrop of the impressive turnout in the recent assembly elections to five states and the registration of 10 crore new voters.

The change will be announced in the next few days. “People will be allowed to cast their vote between 8 am and 6 pm as opposed to 8 am to 5 pm last time,” said a senior EC official.

Some state election officers had proposed a two-hour increase by starting an hour earlier and finishing an hour later but the commission felt one hour would be adequate besides being more practical. “Our officers need time to conduct a mock poll in the morning. Starting early could cause some confusion,” the senior official added.

A total of 81.4 crore voters are expected to exercise their franchise in the nine-phase Lok Sabha election that begins April 7 and ends May 12, with counting scheduled for May 16. In the 2009 elections, 71.3 crore people were eligible to vote.