Mizoram Election Vote Counting Date Changed To December 4; Check Reason Here

The date for the vote counting day for the Mizoram assembly election has been rescheduled to December 4th. The counting of votes for the 40-member assembly was earlier slated for December 3. The political parties in the state have been expressing disappointment against the Election Commission of India for not changing the counting date. They have asked the ECI to change the counting date for Sunday being a special date for the people of Mizoram.

"The Commission has received several representations from various quarters requesting for change in date of counting from 3rd December, 2023 (Sunday) to some other week day, on the ground that 3rd December, 2023 being Sunday a special significance for the people of Mizoram. The Commission, having considered these representations, has decided to revise the date of counting for the General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram from 3rd December, 2023 (Sunday) to 4th December, 2023 (Monday)," said the ECI in a release.

Not only the political parties but even civil society groups in the Christian majority state have urged the ECI to change the date from Sunday. They had said that Sunday is the day of worship for Christians and thus counting be shifted to any other day than Sunday.

In the single-phase election for 40 assembly seats in Mizoram held on November 7, the voter turnout recorded was 78.40 percent. A total of 174 candidates contested in the state.

The main contest in the state is between the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) and Zoram People’s Movement. The Congress and the BJP are other parties in the fray. The exit polls have predicted either a hung assembly in Mizoram or a majority for ZPM. Axis-My India exit poll predicted 28-35 seats for ZPM, 3-7 seats for MNF, 2-4 seats for the Congress party and 0-2 seats for the BJP. 

Matrize exit polls predicted MNF as winner with 17 to 22 seats, 7 to 10 seats for Congress, 7 to 12 seats for ZPM and 1 to 2 seats for the BJP. The ETG exit polls predicted 14 to 18 seats for the MNF, 9 to 13 for Congress, 10 to 14 for ZPM and 0-2 for the BJP. The C Voter exit polls gave a majority to the MNF with 15 to 21 seats, 2 to 8 seats to the Congress, and 12 to 18 to ZPM. The Jan Ki Baat exit poll has predicted 10-14 seats for the Mizo National Front and 15-25 seats for the ZPM. The majority mark in the 40-member assembly is 21 and the ZPM appears to have an edge in the exit poll. Congres is likely to get 5-9 seats while the BJP may win 0-2 seats.