Election Commission focusing on youngsters to expand voter base: CEO Vikas Raj

CEO Vikas Raj said the Election Commission was focusing on new young voters who turn 18 in a year to expand the voter base

Hyderabad: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj said the Election Commission was focusing on new young voters who turn 18 in a year to expand the voter base.

Vikas Raj on Tuesday held a meeting with the representatives of BJP, TDP, Congress, CPI (M) and MIM parties to inform them about the various steps being taken by EC for conducting free and fair elections.

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He said steps were being taken to enhance the quality of electoral participation in terms of informed and ethical voting through continuous electoral and democracy education. The EC had informed that there were currently 4 lakh pending forms, including Forms 6,7, and 8 and that there was a need to clear it, he said.

The CEO also informed the political parties about the various activities undertaken by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and the importance of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) in ensuring fair and transparent elections.

Instructions have been issued to EROs on safeguards against deletions, including photo similar entries, and the need for vigilance against logical errors detected at the data entry level, he said.

Stating that there were only 1785 BLAs as against 34,891 polling stations in the State, he urged the political party leaders to increase the number of BLAs.

The Election Commission had taken up a special initiative to promote voter participation among transgender individuals and other marginalised sections like tribals, he said.

The political parties representatives requested the CEO to give more details on IT initiatives of EC and also organise workshops to create awareness on their role and responsibilities keeping in view the latest instructions and the upcoming general elections.