Counting of votes for the 15 registered graduates constituency seats in the Panjab University (PU) senate elections began at 11 pm on Wednesday, with the university expecting the first-preference count to be completed by Thursday morning.

The counting was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but the process had not begun as the ballot papers were being sorted into valid and invalid votes.

A total of 60,044 votes were polled in the registered graduates constituency, according to PU.

As many as 51 candidates are contesting the 15 ordinary fellow seats from the constituency. The election uses a preferential voting system, with voters marking candidates in order of preference rather than choosing only one candidate. This makes the counting process more elaborate, as votes are subsequently distributed according to the prescribed preference-based system.

Polling for the registered graduates constituency was held on September 20 across Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. The election is the largest constituency-wise contest in the ongoing process to reconstitute the PU senate.