Sikkim Legislative Assembly and LS polls concluded with a voter turnout of 79.90 percent

Digital Desk: On April 19, 2024, voting took place in 573 polling places around Sikkim for the 32 Assembly Constituencies of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly and the 01 Parliamentary Constituency of the Lok Sabha. Everything went off without a hitch and without any significant problems.

 

The real poll in most polling places across the state began at 7:00 am, however, the mock poll process began at 5:30 am in every polling place. Voters, many of them eager, especially those who were casting their first ballots, had turned out in force to exercise their right to vote and take part in the democratic process.

 

In some polling places, the voting process started a little slowly but eventually picked up speed, with some polling places continuing to accept votes past 5 p.m.

 

Every qualified voter who arrived at the polling place by 5 p.m. was guaranteed the right to vote in accordance with the proper protocol. In Sikkim, the overall voter turnout is 79.90 percent.

Adding the postal ballots is expected to increase this figure by an additional 4% or so.

Following the poll's conclusion, the polling teams securely transported the completed electronic voting machines to the District Collection Center, where they gave the returned voter papers and electronic voting machines to the appropriate Returning Officers. 

Later, in front of election observers and candidate representatives, the polled EVMs and election papers were stored in the strong rooms and sealed. 

 

The Central Armed Police Force keeps watch over the Strong Rooms where the EVMs are stored. Furthermore, round-the-clock CCTV coverage has been set up to provide ongoing surveillance of the Strong Room sites.

In addition, the candidates' representatives are permitted to remain outside the Strong Room area's boundary to closely monitor the Strong Rooms' security setup. 

Additionally, they have access to these locations' CCTV footage. The Central Armed Police Force has total control over all of the Strong Rooms.

 

In the presence of the candidate representatives, the Election Commission of India's deputed Returning Officers and General Observers scrutinized the election materials today (20.4.2024) 

 Following the examination, all polling stations in Sikkim received positive feedback from Returning Officers and Observers regarding the polling procedure, and no polling station was suggested to be reopened.

 

On June 2, 2024, the votes for the Sikkim Legislative Assembly will be counted, and on June 4, 2024, the votes for the Lok Sabha.