India recorded the highest voter turnout in the world during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, Kumar commended the voters who participated in the elections and said that the Indian elections are “indeed a miracle.”
“We have created a world record of 642 million voters. This is a historic moment for all of us. This is 1.5 times the voters of all G7 countries and 2.5 times the voters of 27 countries in the European Union (EU). We thank each and every one who took part in this festival of democracy. The Indian elections are indeed a miracle having no parallel in the world,” Kumar said.
In the seven-phase elections, 312 million women cast their votes, exceeding the number of women voters in the EU countries’ most recent national election, Kumar said.
Kumar praised the dedication and participation of elderly voters, particularly those aged 85 and above, as an inspiration to the younger generation.
“The contribution of voters aged 85 and above is inspiring for our younger generation; they are the heroes of our democracy. They have witnessed India before independence and have shaped this country with their contributions over the past 70 years,” Kumar said.
Fewer repolls were necessary this time as a result of the election personnel’s meticulous work, according to Kumar.
“We saw 39 repolls in Lok Sabha polls 2024 as opposed to 540 in 2019 and 25 out of 39 repolls were in 2 States only,” he said.
The Elections Commission extended special thanks to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their faith in the electoral process.
“Voter turnout in the state is the highest in the last four decades,” Kumar said.
Kumar emphasized that the integrity of the elections was maintained throughout the seven phases.
“Identified, confronted and tackled muscle, money, misinformation and MCC violations – impediments to free, fair, and transparent elections were addressed and responded to,” he said.
“The Election Commission made a record seizure of almost Rs 10,000 crores during this election. This is nearly 3 times the value seized in 2019…Local teams were empowered to do their work,” Kumar added.
The CEC said that there is no possibility of error or wrongdoing in the counting of votes, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
“The entire counting process is absolutely robust. It works similar to the precision of a clock.”
(With ANI input)