Voters holding their identification cards stand in a queue to cast their votes for the second phase of Manipur Assembly elections, in Senapati.
Highlights
- The Chief Election commissioner said that female voters have exceeded their male counterparts in the
- Goa came out with 79.6 per cent voter turnout while saw Punjab 71.95 per cent turnout.
- In Manipur, 90 per cent of women electors cast their votes as against 88 per cent men voters.
The chief Election commissioner on Sushil Chandra on Monday said that female voters have exceeded their male counterparts in the 2022 Assembly elections.
"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," said Chandra while virtually addressing the International Election Visitors Programme 2022.
He also stated that in the recent election held in Goa 80.96 per cent were women voters against 78.19 per cent of men voters. In Manipur, 90 per cent of 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."
In the current round of elections, Goa came out with 79.6 per cent voter turnout while saw Punjab 71.95 per cent voter turnout. Uttarakhand saw 65.4 per cent turnout in voters, Manipur 88 per cent and Uttar Pradesh 62-65 per cent till the sixth phase, he added.
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.
(With ANI Inputs)
ALSO READ | Exit Polls 2022: UP goes with Yogi-led BJP again
ALSO READ | Exit Poll 2022: BJP to retain power with comfortable majority in Manipur, says Ground Zero research
