Women voters' participation exceeds that of men in assembly polls: Chief Election Commissioner

Women voters have exceeded men electorates in the recently held Assembly elections, said Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra on Monday.

Addressing over 150 delegates from nearly 32 countries during, International Election Visitors Programme 2022 virtually, Chandra said, "In Goa, Uttarakhand and several constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, women voters turnout exceeded than men. The difference was striking in Uttarakhand with women clocking 67.20 per cent turnout as against 62.60 per cent male voters, which is 5 per cent more than men."

The Chief Election Commissioner said Goa witnessed 80.96 per cent turnout among women voters against 78.19 per cent of men voters. In Manipur, 90 per cent women electors cast their votes as against 88 per cent men voters. Out of seven phases in UP, in three phases, women voters turnout exceeded men. Male voters were 51.03 per cent while female turnout was 62.62 per cent.

"I compliment all women voters on the eve of international women's day. Last year we have five elections and turnouts were good. Assam had 82.4 per cent, Kerala 76.5 per cent, Tamil Nadu had 73 per cent, West Bengal 82 per cent and Puducheri had 83.4 per cent. So even at last year's pandemic time, electors came forward to cast their vote."

He further added that in the current round of elections, Goa came out with 79.6 per cent voter turnout, Punjab 71.95 per cent , Uttarakhand 65.4 per cent, Manipur 88 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 62-65 per cent till the sixth phase which is not substantially less than last elections.

Chief Election Commissioner said that during these current elections about 48,000 complaints were received which were immediately attended by Officials. He further added that the total seizure of cash, liquor, narcotics, and freebies is around USD 137 million, which is 3.5 times more than the 2017 elections.

Chandra pointed out that despite the COVID-19 pandemic posing several logistical challenges in conducting elections, India has yet again conducted elections in five states with 183.4a million electorates across 690 Assembly constituencies, making the electoral system more inclusive, accessible, and participative.

While highlighting various initiatives taken by the Election Commission for facilitating senior citizens, PwD, and women voters, Chandra appreciated the innovative and localized solutions implemented by field officers to overcome barriers faced by various categories of voters. He mentioned that over 11 million new voters were added for the ongoing elections in the five states.

The Election Commission on Monday hosted the virtual International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2022 for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from nearly 32 countries and four international organizations. An overview of the ongoing Elections for Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh was presented to more than 150 EMB delegates participating online. Ambassadors/High Commissioners and other members of the Diplomatic Corps based in India from nine countries also participated in Monday's virtual IEVP 20.

Acknowledging the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the Commission's aim has been to work with three broad objectives - COVID safe Elections, hassle-free comfortable voting experience, and maximum voter participation.

While elaborating on the special measures undertaken by EC to ensure COVID safe elections, he mentioned that the Commission took a graded response keeping a balance between the candidates and parties right to campaigning and with evolving COVID-19 situation, ensuring the safety of voters and polling personnel.

Highlighting facilitation for different categories of voters in the current elections, Kumar mentioned that Commission reached out to nearly 5.3 lakh service voters, 13 lakh PwD voters, and a large number of centenarian voters.

Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey highlighted the major milestones including the adoption of the Model Code of Conduct, system of deputing Election Observers, EVM-VVPAT, and Information and Communication Technology in the glorious journey of Indian elections in the last 70 years for ensuring free, fair, transparent and ethical elections.

He also gave an overview of the various initiatives taken by ECI including voter connect through SVEEP and voter-friendly polling stations to ensure ease of voter registration and facilitation for various categories of voters for enhanced electoral participation.

Over 150 delegates from nearly 32 countries across the world participated in the event.

( With inputs from ANI )

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