(This May 30 story has been corrected to say 0230 GMT, not 0000 GMT, in paragraph 5)
(Reuters) – The winners of India's general elections held from April 19 to June 1 are expected to form a new government by mid-June after the votes are counted on June 4. Analysts largely expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi to win a third consecutive term. As predicted by opinion polls before voting began.
Here's a look at how votes are counted and what happens next.
categorizing voices
The counting of votes is done decentralized and takes place simultaneously in counting centers in each of the 543 electoral districts across the country.
Vote counting begins at 8 a.m. (0230 GMT) on June 4 with the counting of postal ballots that can only be used for selected groups, including people with disabilities, or those involved in essential services including security forces and some government officials.
After the paper ballot, registered votes are counted in electronic voting machines (EVM), which India has used since 2000, moving away from paper ballots in national and state elections.
Criticism of the process
Besides the electronic record of each vote cast through the electronic voting device, a corresponding paper slip is also produced, which is visible to the voter, and then stored in a locked box.
The poll watchdog, the Election Commission of India (ECI), counts these slips of paper and verifies them against electronic votes at five randomly selected polling stations – by lottery – in different parts of each constituency.
While critics and some members of civil society, including some political parties, want verification to take place at more booths to increase transparency, the Supreme Court has refused to order any change in the vote counting process.
The Election Commission of India has rejected allegations that EVMs can be tampered with, calling them foolproof.
Formation of the government
The results will be announced for each district immediately upon completion of the sorting process. India follows a first-past-the-post system, under which the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether he gets a majority or not.
Results trends generally become clear in the afternoon of counting day and are shown on television news networks. The official number from the ECI could come after hours.
After the Independent Electoral Commission announces the results of all 543 seats, the president invites the leader of the party, or coalition, that has more than half the seats, to form the government.
The party or coalition with 272 or more seats then chooses a prime minister to lead the government.
In the 2019 elections, Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 seats, and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance won about 50 more. Meanwhile, the Congress, the main opposition party, won only 52 seats, while another 91 went to its allies.
If no party or political alliance obtains a simple majority, resulting in a so-called “hanging house”, the president asks the party with the largest number of seats to form the government, and later prove the majority on the House floor.
The new House of Representatives (Lok Sabha) is scheduled to be formed before the end of its current term on June 16.
Will Modi win?
Opinion polls conducted before voting began on April 19 predicted an easy victory for Modi for a rare third consecutive term, but lower voter turnout and a more united opposition compared to 2019 emerged as surprising challenges for him. But most analysts say he is still likely to win.