Electoral literacy clubs are being set up in educational institutions in the State in a bid to attract the youth to the democratic process and encourage them to exercise their franchise.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Teeka Ram Meena inaugurated the launch of the clubs at a function at Government College for Women, Vazhuthcaud, here on Tuesday.
Mr. Meena said the people of the State were the most aware of democracy. The polling in the State was in the 75%-77% range. The electoral literacy clubs were set up with the aim of increasing the voter participation to 100%. Those who turned 18 on January 1 this year could enrol themselves on the voters’ list ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Those who would turn 18 in January next could also include their names by visiting the portal nvsp.com. The draft electoral roll had been published on October 1, he said.
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Besides the youth, transgenders, differently abled, Adivasis, and non-resident Indians too were being enrolled.
Mr. Meena said college students were the ambassadors of the electoral literacy clubs. Besides voter enrolment, they should ensure clean voting for a robust democracy.
Though Kerala was more gender-equitable than other States, more women should come forward to become a part of the democratic process, he said.
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Kerala was the first State in which electronic voting machines (EVMs) and model code of conduct were introduced. In the next Lok Sabha elections. VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) machines that let a voter verify that their vote went to the intended candidate would be introduced.
District Collector K. Vasuki, who is the District Election Officer, said those who exercised their adult franchise and became part of the democratic process truly had the right to point out its problems. She said the participation of every citizen was crucial in ensuring that democracy went from strength to strength.
The electoral literacy clubs are being set up at government and aided colleges and schools (for Classes 9 to 12). Each school and college will have nodal officers. Colleges will have student ambassadors too. For training of modal officers and ambassadors, five State-level master trainers conducted classes for 43 district-level trainers in June. These district-level trainers trained college and school teachers, and the process of setting up clubs is now under way.