NEW DELHI: Eleven lakh youths aged 17 years have submitted advance applications for enrolment as voters after the Election Commission allowed those above 17 to pre-register for inclusion in the electoral roll, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar shared in his address to the nation on the eve of 13th National Voters Day (NVD).
All these advance applicants are enrolled as voters and delivered their election photo identity card (EPIC) via speed-post by the EC once they complete 18 years of age, he said.
Kumar said the revised electoral roll published earlier this month lists a total 94.5 electors, which include nearly 1.43 crore newly-eligible voters aged between 18 and 19 years, 2 crore senior citizens above 80 years of age comprising 3 lakh centenarians, 85,000 persons with disabilities (PwD voters) and 47,500 third gender voters.
Particularly appealing to the young and prospective voters to “experience the joy of voting”, he emphasised that young people have a lot to offer in terms of energy, innovation, creativity and a fresh perspective. “Youth should never shy away from voting. Youth electoral apathy is neither in your interest nor in the interest of the nation,” he said while emphasising that the 13th National Voters Day (NVD) lays special focus on young and prospective voters. The theme of this year’s NVD, he said, is “Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure”.
President Droupadi Murmu will be chief guest at an event on Wednesday to celebrate National Voters’s Day. The function will also be attended by law minister Kiren Rijiju.
The CEC, in his address on NVD eve, stated that while electoral participation has gone up from 44.8% in 1951-52 general election to 67.4% in 2019, around 30 crore voters still do not vote on account of factors like urban apathy, youth apathy and domestic migration. He said the EC was striving to facilitate all those who do not vote for a variety of reasons.
Stating that dialogue, consensus and mutual goodwill were hallmarks of a robust electoral system and democracy, Kumar said the political parties are EC’s trusted partners in exploring electoral reforms. “We look forward to a dialogue in the spirit of mutual trust,” he stated.
The CEC said the poll panel was committed to cleaning up the election space by curbing misuse of money and muscle power. “We are pursuing electoral reform, strictly enforcing the laws and equipping the voter with information furnished by the candidate in affidavits, including his criminal antecedents,” he said.
Kumar also made a mention of technological innovations by EC to facilitate both the voters and candidates.
All these advance applicants are enrolled as voters and delivered their election photo identity card (EPIC) via speed-post by the EC once they complete 18 years of age, he said.
Kumar said the revised electoral roll published earlier this month lists a total 94.5 electors, which include nearly 1.43 crore newly-eligible voters aged between 18 and 19 years, 2 crore senior citizens above 80 years of age comprising 3 lakh centenarians, 85,000 persons with disabilities (PwD voters) and 47,500 third gender voters.
Particularly appealing to the young and prospective voters to “experience the joy of voting”, he emphasised that young people have a lot to offer in terms of energy, innovation, creativity and a fresh perspective. “Youth should never shy away from voting. Youth electoral apathy is neither in your interest nor in the interest of the nation,” he said while emphasising that the 13th National Voters Day (NVD) lays special focus on young and prospective voters. The theme of this year’s NVD, he said, is “Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure”.
President Droupadi Murmu will be chief guest at an event on Wednesday to celebrate National Voters’s Day. The function will also be attended by law minister Kiren Rijiju.
The CEC, in his address on NVD eve, stated that while electoral participation has gone up from 44.8% in 1951-52 general election to 67.4% in 2019, around 30 crore voters still do not vote on account of factors like urban apathy, youth apathy and domestic migration. He said the EC was striving to facilitate all those who do not vote for a variety of reasons.
Stating that dialogue, consensus and mutual goodwill were hallmarks of a robust electoral system and democracy, Kumar said the political parties are EC’s trusted partners in exploring electoral reforms. “We look forward to a dialogue in the spirit of mutual trust,” he stated.
The CEC said the poll panel was committed to cleaning up the election space by curbing misuse of money and muscle power. “We are pursuing electoral reform, strictly enforcing the laws and equipping the voter with information furnished by the candidate in affidavits, including his criminal antecedents,” he said.
Kumar also made a mention of technological innovations by EC to facilitate both the voters and candidates.
