Free and fair polls did not take place in the State during this year’s Lok Sabha elections, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said on Friday.
In many poll booths, several voters who waited for hours in the sweltering heat, returned without voting. Several who went back and came again to vote, did not get a chance to vote. In many places, even though voters had reached the polling booths before 6 p.m., they could not cast their votes, said Mr. Satheesan.
Voting took place at a slow pace in most places. There are reports that in many places, voters had to wait for more than four-and-a-half hours. The manner in which voting was conducted in many places, it would not be amiss if one suspected serious negligence on the part of the officials, he said. Mr. Satheesan said that the polling percentage went down this time because of the slowing down of the processes at the official level.
He said that polling time was not extended in places where Electronic Voting Machines developed snags. Never before in the recent past has the voting arrangements in the State been organised in such a shabby manner and a serious enquiry should be conducted into this, demanded Mr. Satheesan.
