- The nation celebrated eighth National Voters’ Day (NVD) on 25 January, 2018.
- To facilitate registration and larger participation from the persons with disabilities, this year’s National Voters’ Day is celebrated with the theme of ‘Accessible Elections.’
- Since the Election Commission of India was constituted in 1950 on this day (January 25), hence it was decided to celebrate this day as the National Voters’ Day.
- First National Voters’ Day was celebrated on 25 January, 2011.
Objectives: The objectives of National Voters’ Day are:
- To welcome the new voters; especially the millennium voters who have just been enrolled and call upon them to exercise their voting right in the next election in their respective constituency in a free and fearless manner.
- The Day is dedicated to the voters of India and reminds them of the Constitutional Rights of adult suffrage granted to every eligible Indian citizen irrespective of their race, religion, caste, community, language, region or socio-economic considerations.
- Through a ‘Pledge’ on this day, we renew our resolve to uphold the rich democratic traditions of our country and the sanctity of free, fair and peaceful elections.
Measures to increase voting percentage: In the last few years, the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) efforts to inspire voters to exercise their constitution right of voting, have produced inspiring results. Some of those measures are:
- Electoral Participation programme SVEEP
- Interactive School Engagement,
- ECI National Election Quiz,
- Electoral Literacy Club
Achievement: Through tireless efforts, ECI has achieved an electoral roll of nearly 87.53 crore electors spread over around 9.97 lakh Polling Stations* that cover the vast expanse of our country including remote and far flung localities.
