On the occasion of 13th National Voters’ Day (NVD) being celebrated across the nation today, Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar has urged the 94 crore plus registered electors to exercise their democratic right to vote.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, “If leaving duties unperformed we run after rights, they escape us like a will-o’-the-wisp”, the CEC stated, “The right to vote is power only when exercised.”
In his NVD message to the nation, he lauded “the foresight of the Constituent Assembly” for establishing the “permanent, central and autonomous” Election Commission on 25 January 1950, on the eve of the first Republic Day, in an era of low literacy and non-existent electoral rolls.
Kumar said that ECI had till date conducted 17 Lok Sabha elections, 16 elections each to the office of the President and Vice President, 399 Legislative Assembly elections and that the 400th assembly elections are underway.
“…election results in India have been never in dispute”, he proudly proclaimed the trust that ECI has earned from both political parties and citizens of India.
Stating that strong and inclusive electoral participation is “crucial for building a robust democracy”, the CEC regretted the poor voting figure of 67.4 percent in the last general elections (2019).
He blamed urban apathy, youth apathy, domestic migration and others for the missing 30 crore votes and said that ECI is engaging with the youth as well as urban voters through various mediums in order to bring them to the polling booths.
Kumar said that the ECI has already institutionalized systems for facilitating 2 crore plus voters of age 80 years and above, 85 lakh PWD voters and enrolling of 47,500 plus third gender people. He also said that he had recently sent personal letters to over 2 lakh centenarian voters to thank them for their commitment to democracy.
In his address, the CEC paid tributes to Late Shyam Saran Negi, ECI’s brand ambassador who died on 5 November 2022 at the age of 106.
“Acknowledged as the first voter in the First General Election of India (1951), he never missed out on exercising franchise….. The example of Late Shyam Saran Negi inspires us to cast our vote dutifully.” he said.
Rajiv Kumar said that voters have right to be informed about the background of candidates they vote and for this reason, the criminal cases, if any, pending against the candidates should be made public.
“Violence should have no place in democracy” he asserted, though there are still a few states where election related violence impinges upon free choice of voters.
He said that though mobile Apps like C-Vigil, citizens can report violations of Model Code of Conduct and help Election Observers initiate prompt action (within 100 minutes) against the offenders.
On fake media videos/contents, the CEC said that hundreds of videos/contents are loaded and circulated before every election and continue to linger after the elections are over, making the jobs of Election Management Bodies much more difficult.
Kumar said that ECI is leading the development of Assured Minimum Facilities (AMF) like toilets, electricity, drinking water, ramps at every polling station. The Commission is keen that the facilities developed in the schools should be of permanent nature, he added.
Since 2011, 25 January is celebrated as National Voters’ Day (NVD) with the aim to sensitize the citizens about their rights and responsibilities as voters. NVD epitomizes the resolve of ECI to pull all stops out to make elections inclusive, participatory, voter friendly and ethical, he stated.
Nothing Like Voting, Vote for Sure” is the theme of 2023 NVD.
The Chief Election Commissioner of India ended his address by stating that “When citizens take pride in being a voter, as part of their civic duty, its impact on the level of governance is sure to be felt.”
