Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme needs to be effectively implemented to ensure that there is near universal voting and a free and fair elections, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer and District SVEEP nodal officer Rahul Shinde said in Belagavi on Thursday.
“Officers in charge of the voter education programme should not only implement existing programmes properly but also come up with innovative ideas to motivate more people to vote without fear or favour,” he said.
“These programmes and ideas should be focussed on increasing the percentage of voting in the district and create awareness among voters about ethical voting,” the CEO said.
He was addressing a meeting of the District SVEEP Committee in the zilla panchayat. These activities should be continuous. They should be systematically and effectively organized by the committees at various levels, he said.
He pointed out that voter turnout in the last elections was lower in urban areas compared to rural areas.
“We have to spread the message that a healthy democracy is dependent on higher political participation. We have to make the city dwellers realise that voting is not just their Constitutional right but also a moral duty,” he said.
Officers need to work with teams of youngsters, artists, singers and theatre personalities to drive these ideas into young minds, he said.
He asked them to spread awareness through street plays, cultural programmes, folk performances and other programs, apart from door-to-door visits.
He instructed them to identify polling stations that have had low turnout in the last elections and take necessary steps to increase the turnout in those areas.
He asked officers to prepare a list of migrant workers in the district and encourage them to exercise their franchise. Awareness programmes should be conducted in crowded areas like bus stand and railway station, he said.
“On the day of polling, efforts should be made to see that all eligible voters go to the polling booths and exercise their right. All necessary basic facilities should be provided in the polling booths,” he said.
“Our aim should be to see that no eligible voter is deprived of the right to vote, even as he carries out his daily activities. All of us should take up SVEEP activities and carry them out within the scope of work assigned to us,” he said.
“This year’s SVEEP slogan is ‘Nothing more important than voting. I will definitely vote.’ Election day is the day of celebrating the country’s democracy and that should be a matter of pride for all us. No one should stay away from the polling booths,” he said.
Committee members and officers Mallikarjun Kaladagi, R. Nagaraja, Abdul Rashid Mirjannavar, Vidyavathy Bhajantri, Namdev Bilkar and others were present.
