India recently conducted the largest-ever general election in the world, spanning over six weeks. The results of this monumental exercise in democracy are set to be announced on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vying for a rare third term in power, facing off against an alliance of opposition parties that are aiming to remove him from office. If Modi emerges victorious, he will be the first leader to win three consecutive elections since India’s first prime minister achieved this feat in 1962.
With a population of over 1.4 billion people, approximately 969 million were eligible to vote in this election, surpassing the combined populations of North America and the European Union. This means that about 12% of the world’s population had the opportunity to cast their votes. Around 642 million people participated in the election, as reported by Rajiv Kumar, the chief election commissioner of India. Additionally, there was a significant increase in the number of women registered to vote from the previous election in 2019, as well as an addition of over 20 million voters aged 18-29.
The voting system in India involved selecting candidates for 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The party winning the majority will appoint one of its candidates as the prime minister and establish a ruling government. The voting process commenced on April 19 and concluded on June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4. While some states had a single day to vote, others, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, with a combined population of 475 million, voted over seven days.
Votes were cast electronically across more than 1 million polling stations in India, which represented a 1.2% increase from the previous election. This operation required approximately 15 million polling officials and security staff, some of whom traveled by various means, including road, boat, camel, train, and helicopters, to ensure all citizens could exercise their right to vote.