INDIA: BIHAR: REPORTS OF ELECTION FRAUD - 4 KILLED скачать в хорошем качестве

INDIA: BIHAR: REPORTS OF ELECTION FRAUD - 4 KILLED

(25 Sep 1999) Natural Sound At least four people were killed and a government ministers were arrested on Saturday amid reports of large-scale election fraud in Bihar, India's most lawless state. According to an independent election commissioner, 51 percent of the country's 80 (m) million people eligible to vote cast their ballots in nine states, during the fourth round of voting for a new federal parliament. With voting completed in 418 of the 534 parliament constituencies, an exit poll broadcast on state television showed Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance of 22 parties firming its expected victory over the Congress party, led by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi. Seventy-five thousand police, reservists and soldiers were sent here to Bihar for the fourth round of voting. Their job - to prevent voter fraud and riots and to stop fighting between political supporters in the country's most lawless state. Here, every politician has a private army to scare away voters and intimidate poll officials. Security forces were given shoot-on-sight orders against militants and poll attackers, in an effort to prevent the bloodbath that occurred during the third phase of voting last week, in which 38 people were killed in the state. This time round, there were fewer deaths. Independent Election Commissioner Manohar Singh Gill told reporters in New Delhi that four people had died in Bihar. But he said they were killed during clashes with police and not near polling booths. He also confirmed that Bihar's junior minister for cooperatives, Shyam Bihari Prasad, was arrested and charged with instigating violence at a balloting station in the Motihari district Turnout in Bihar was 55 percent of the 18 (m) million eligible voters. Voters names were checked off lists before they were allowed in to cast their ballots. Seventy-four constituencies spread over nine states voted on Saturday for the Lok Sabha, the powerful lower house of parliament. Voting also took place in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Manipur, Meghalaya and Maharashtra. Polling for the remaining 123 constituencies will be completed on the 3rd and 4th of October. Vote-counting will begin two days later. A new government's expected to assume office by the middle of next month. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...