Counting of votes begins, Results expected by mid day

Saturday 16 May, 2009.

Counting of votes for General Elections begins, Results expected by mid day

Counting of votes polled in the 15th Lok Sabha elections began at over 4,000 counting halls across the country during which the fate of 8,070 candidates will be known.

Counting began at 0800 hrs in all 28 states and seven union territories. Votes polled in elections to state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim are also being counted simultaneously.

A party or combine needs 272 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha to form a government.

A little over half of the 71.377 crore registered voters cast their ballots through Electronic Voting Machines in the elections that began on 16th April and ended on 13th May.

In all, 8,070 candidates, including from 46 national, and state parties, contested in the elections to 543 LS seats (two members are nominated from Anglo-Indian community).

Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and Election Commissioners S Y Quraishi and V S Sampath reviewed the preparations for counting in all states and union territories through a video conference with Chief Electoral Officers.