New Delhi: In the Delhi Assembly elections concluded on Saturday, the Election Commission (EC) initiated some novel experiments for the very first time.
To attract electorate, the poll panel introduced model polling booths decorated with flowers and selfie spots.
First time in the electoral history of India, the EC extended the facility of postal ballot to employees working in various government departments providing essential services during the polls.
As per the EC statement, the facility was earlier provided to employees of Northern Railway and Delhi Metro, and media persons having accreditation from the poll panel. In total, 19 Form 12D applications were received under this provision.
For the first time, the postal ballot facility was provided to persons with disabilities and senior citizens aged 80 plus. “As many as 2,429 and 488 forms of 12D were accepted from senior citizens and PwD, respectively,” read an EC statement.
It is for the first time cVIGIL app was used by citizens in the state for uploading pictures/videos of violation of the election model code of conduct and exceeding the limit on poll expenditure. Action was taken on these posts within 100 minutes. It was a citizen-driven approach that held many to account.
The election passed off peacefully except for a few clashes between political activists. To maintain law and order, 38,874 Delhi Police personnel were deployed.
Though voting was slow in initial hours, it picked up by the end of the day and 61.46 per cent of the 1,47,86,382 voters cast their votes. However, it was low compared with 67.14 per cent of the 2015 polls.
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