OPPOSITION ALLEGES VOTE FRAUD AHEAD OF ELECTION COUNT

Indian opposition parties have repeatedly raised concerns of fraud as the Election Commission prepares to count votes on Thursday at the end of the country’s marathon general elections. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dismissed the allegations, saying opposition parties should accept defeat with grace.

The opposition leaders upped their concern after a slew of exit polls released on Sunday, following the last round of voting in the sixweek elections, indicated Prime Minister Narendra Modi would return to power with a comfortable majority.

A group of 21 leaders of national and regional parties met Election Commission officials on Tuesday to raise their concerns and demand more transparency in the counting process.

The opposition parties also pointed out several videos doing the rounds on social media that allegedly show electronic voting machines

(EVMS) being transported without required security and tampering of the machines.

Indian voters press a button against the name, symbol and photograph of the candidate of their choice on an EVM to register their vote.

The Election Commission has said the machines in the videos were likely to be reserve EVMS and the machines on which votes have been recorded were safely transported and kept in high-security strong rooms and the entire process had been recorded on camera.

Counting will be held on Thursday for all seven phases of the parliamentary elections, which began on April 11 and ended on Sunday. The results are expected the same day or early Friday. DPA, 22ND MAY, 2019