The Greater Hyderabad Municipality Corporation (GHMC) election on Tuesday concluded at 6 pm with a voter turnout nearly 36 % till 5 pm.
Around 30 per cent voters cast their votes in the elections till 4:00 P.M., election officials said.
According to SEC, 29.76 per cent electorate cast their votes with two more hours left for the polling process to end. Meanwhile, SEC has also banned the broadcast for exit polls till December 3, 6 pm in view of the re-polling that has been scheduled for Old Malaket (Ward No. 26)
Like in the previous municipal polls, voter indifference marked GHMC elections this time too with the Covid-19 pandemic and series of holidays further bringing down the turnout. The turnout remained dull throughout the day as few voters turned up to cast their votes, despite appeal by the poll authorities, all political parties, NGOs and celebrities to improve the polling percentage.
The polling in the GHMC was held from 7 am to 6 pm in all the 69 polling stations by replacing the Returning Officer too.
A total of 74,67,256 people are eligible to cast their votes, including 38,89,637 men, 35,76,941 women and 678 others.
In the 2016 GHMC elections, 45.27 per cent voters had cast their votes. Though the political parties had hoped that the percentage will improve this time, the response by the urban voters remained lukewarm.
This time, the Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 situation is being blamed for the poor turnout, despite the assurance by the authorities that they have taken all precautions by following the Covid-19 protocols.
The results would be announced on the 4th of December.
Stay tuned for further updates.
