Voter apathy among biggest challenges: EC |
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New Delhi : Voter apathy is one of the biggest challenges faced by the Election Commission, Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi admitted on Wednesday, even as he stressed that voter awareness drives like Delhi’s “Pappu campaign”, rather than measures like compulsory voting, could address the problem. To fight voter apathy, the EC has decided, in principle, against holding elections on Fridays and Mondays ensuring that it doesn’t become ‘an extended weekend’ for the voters.
A known proponent of social marketing for social change, Quraishi also cited the example of Jharkhand elections where voters defied Naxalites to vote in large numbers. The Election Commissioner also cited practical problems in making voting compulsory saying it will only add a humongous number to the existing backlog of court cases.
While the NRIs may after some time get the right to vote, Quraishi wondered why the same community, when living in big Indian cities, were found to be wanting when it came to exercising franchise. Quraishi also called for a national electoral database, and said that the coming diamond jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission would be an apt occasion for an appraisal of its multidimensional role in Indian Democracy.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Voter-apathy-among-biggest-challenges--EC/569978