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ATW-India-Elections
India's election dates announced
JP/11/J04

India's election dates announced

INDIA: India's parliamentary elections will be held in four
phases on April 20 and 26, and May 5 and 10, Chief Election
Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy announced on Sunday.

Simultaneous state elections will be held in the states of
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Orissa and Sikkim.

According to the poll schedule, 16 states and federally-
administered areas will vote on April 20, 11 on April 26, seven
on May 5, and 16 on May 10. The votes will be counted on May 13,
Krishnamurthy said.

This will also be the first completely electronic election in
the world's largest democracy. India has an electorate of more
than 600 million, who will all use electronic voting machines,
the commissioner said.

He also hoped more people, especially the young, would come
forward to vote. Usually the average voter turnout is only about
55-60 percent.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee called for a dissolution
of parliament in early February to cash in on his government's
current domestic and economic success. --DPA