Over 8 crore voters to exercise franchise in 5th phase of LS polls on May 20

New Delhi, May 19: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday said that over eight crore voters will exercise their franchise in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20 while polling for 35 Assembly constituencies of the Odisha Legislative Assembly will also take place simultaneously.

“In the 5th phase, at least over 8.95 crore voters will exercise their franchise. Around 94,732 polling stations have been set up for the voters. Over 8.95 crore voters include 4.69 crore males, 4.26 crore females and 5,409 Third-gender voters,” the ECI said.

The commission said that there are over 7.81 lakh registered 85 years old voters, 24,792 voters are above 100 years and 7.03 lakh PwD voters for the fifth phase who have been provided the option to vote from the comfort of their homes.

“In the first four phases about 66.95 per cent voter turnout has been recorded,” the ECI said.

The election commission said that a total of 216 international border check posts and 565 inter-state border check posts have also been set up to keep a strict vigil on any illicit flow of liquor, drugs, cash and freebies.

The commission has also provided 12 alternative documents other than the voter ID card (EPIC) for identity verification at polling stations.

The last and seventh phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held on June 1 while the counting of votes has been scheduled for June 4.