What is Form 17C and how it plays a crucial role in the election process
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stoutly dismissed allegations by a national party that the release of final voter turnouts was delayed in a bid to tamper with the final results.
Two forms have data that indicate the electors and voters count. These two forms are: Form 17A and Form 17C. According to Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, Form 17A shows the register of voters. In this, poll officials keep all the records of the details of every voter who exercise franchise at the polling booth and signs the register. Form 17C keeps account of the votes recorded, which reflects the turnout.
What does Form 17C contain?
The polling agents of candidates are issued Form 17C when the polling comes to a close. It is a statutory requirement.
The Form contains the unique identification numbers given to the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used within the polling station; the total electors who are assigned to the polling station; the total number of voters as entered in the register for voters (Form 17A); the total number of electorates who decided not to vote after signing on the register; the total number of voters not allowed to vote; the total number of test votes to be deducted, and total number of votes recorded according to EVM. The Part-II of Form 17C contains the counting results, which are entered on the day of counting.
Form 17C data are deemed as final, and the record in it can be used if any poll result or counting has to be challenged legally. The candidates use the data in Form 17C for verification of the results on the counting day. The number of electors assigned to a polling station and those who voted as per the Form 17C record can be tallied with the EVM count.
On the day of counting, the supervisor overseeing the counting process must confirm in Part-II of Form 17C that there are no anomalies between the votes tallied and those documented in Part-I on the day of polling. This is countersigned by all candidates or their representatives or agents. If there are any inconsistencies or discrepancies, they can be challenged.
Demand to make the Form 17C data public
There’s a demand for full transparency in the voting process by activists and make Form 17C public.
It’s to be noted that even though Form 17C is provided to candidates’ representatives, due to the huge number of polling stations in every constituency, bottlenecks in coordination, and limited resources, a number of candidates find it very tough to compile all the data for the entire constituency.
ADR moves SC
Recently, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO, moved the Supreme Court voicing doubts on the excessive delay in the release of final voter turnout data and an increase as compared to the initial percentage announced at the date of polling by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the first and second phase of polling.
The ADR moved an interim application before the Supreme Court in its 2019 Public Interest Litigation seeking directions to the ECI that scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations be uploaded immediately after the elections.