Jun 29, 2017

EC collaborating with Facebook to enrol new voters

BYPankaj Mishra

The Election Commission (EC) will launch a special drive to enrol new electors, and has collaborated with Facebook to launch a ‘voter registration reminder’ on July 1.
According to an official release, a notification of the ‘voter registration reminder’ will be sent on July 1 to people who are eligible to vote on Facebook.
The reminder will be sent out in 13 Indian languages — English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya.
By clicking on the ‘register now’ button, people will be directed to the national voters’ services portal (www.nvsp.in) which will guide them through the registration process.
“I am pleased to announce that the Election Commission is launching a special drive to enrol left out electors, with a special focus on first time electors. This is a step towards fulfilment of the motto of the EC — No Voter to be Left Behind,” chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi said.
“I urge all eligible citizens to enrol and vote i.e recognise your right and perform your duty,” he said.
“I am sure this initiative will strengthen EC’s enrolment campaign and encourage future voters to participate in the electoral process and become responsible citizens,” Zaidi said.
This is the first time Facebook has been used for enrolling new voters across India. In 2016 and 2017, chief electoral officers made efforts at the state level during their state elections.

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Pankaj Mishra is a writer of FactorDaily.