Observer, Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP), Sudha Gupta asked the administrative officials, social bodies, non governmental organisations and the people’s representatives while meeting them on Monday to plunge headlong in ensuring the maximum voters’ participation in the upcoming election in the state slated for February 15. She also stressed on the election being free and fair as well as peaceful.
Notably, the election commission of India has launched SVEEP to ensure enhanced participation of the electorate in the democratic engagement. It is meant to strive to achieve 5 per cent increase in the overall voter turnout in the string of Assembly elections being held now.
Concerned over 10 per cent low voters’ turnout at the polling stations and striving to achieve 100 per cent registration of all eligible voters with the vision “no voters left behind”, this programme aims at creating awareness emphasising the need for informed and ethical voting practices with the vision “inclusive and qualitative electoral participation”.
Visible enhancement of voting percentage of persons with disabilities, transgender community and senior citizens aside from registering the maximum percentage of postal ballot voters with the assistance of the administrative officials, social organisations, NGOs and people’s representatives is also an objective sought for.
Taking a review meeting of the preparations, Gupta said that the departments must create interest among the people for voting. Analysing the reasons behind drop in the number of voters, Sudha said that the women opt out of the voting in many cases. Their full participation must be ensured by all means, she stressed.
A strict vigil would have to be kept on the use of liquor and money power during the election to lure the voters, she said, adding that the people must be enabled to elect the most competent among the candidates without being lured by small temptations.
The district magistrate cum the district electoral officer Harbans Singh Chugh directed the administrative officials to work hard to bring maximum number of people to the booths on the voting day.