ECI Initiative to Increase Voter Turnout

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to launch a Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Programme (SVEEP) in the State to enhance turnout of voters including women in the General Election, 2014.
ECI Initiative to Increase Voter Turnout

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to launch a Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Programme (SVEEP) in the State to enhance turnout of voters including women in the General Election, 2014.

The need for improving women’s participation in the electoral process was felt due to the huge gap in voting patterns. There was atleast a five per cent gap in men-women voter turnout, during elections, ECI Director General Akshay Rout said.

The initiative tries to address problems like lesser women’s participation, youth disconnect and less voting in urban areas.  Four years back, SVEEP was implemented in 23 States out of which 13 States have shown historic rise in the voter turnout, Rout said.

A similar campaign will be launched in Odisha where the overall voter turnout is about 65.5 per cent. A two day seminar will be conducted as a part of the campaign which will be presided over by Election Commissioner of India Nasim Zaidi. Electoral officers from nine states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, Gujarat, Kerela, West Bengal and Haryana - will take part in the discussions.

 Odisha Chief Electoral Officer Mona Sharma

Sharma addressed the problem of duplication of names in the electoral rolls and said the numbers were alarmingly high in Odisha. In a special drive conducted between April and July, more than 16.5 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls, she said.

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The New Indian Express
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