Explainer | Why do India’s general elections take so long to complete?
- This year’s vote will take 44 days, with results due on June 4, but the duration has varied over the years from just four days to nearly four months
- Officials from the election commission, which oversees the vote, have to make sure there is a voting booth available within 2km of every voter
From April 19 to June 1, nearly 970 million Indians – or over 10 per cent of the global population – are eligible to vote in general elections. The mammoth exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world and will take 44 days before results are announced on June 4.
Most surveys predict Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party will win comfortably, cementing him as one of the country’s most popular and consequential leaders.
Why does it take so long?
Over the years, the duration of voting has wavered. It took nearly four months to complete the vote in India’s first elections in 1951-1952, after it gained independence from British rule, and just four days in 1980. In 2019, voting took 39 days, and this year’s election is the second longest.
The vote to choose 543 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament takes place over seven phases. India’s 28 states and eight federal territories will vote at different times. Each phase is one day, with the first kicking off April 19 and ending on June 1.