The Election Commission of India (ECI) organized a virtual meeting of the ‘Asian Regional Forum’ on the theme “To make our elections inclusive, accessible and participatory” today at Nirvachan Sadan. The meeting of the regional forum was a precursor to the “Summit for Electoral Democracy” to be organized by the National Electoral Institute of Mexico next month.
The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Shri Rajiv Kumar, in his keynote address said that democracy and democratic institutions flourish when all groups of people are fully represented. No democracy can be meaningful and aspirational unless it is inclusive of all citizens, accessible without fear and favour, and participatory despite differing social, political and economic vulnerabilities.
The CEC called on all Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) to continuously self-assess and strengthen their systems to meet the growing expectations of citizens and deal with new challenges during the electoral process. He added that the framework for rating and so-called ratings of democracies by global rating agencies should be objective and contextual, taking into account the size, socio-cultural and geographic context in which individual countries and EMBs operate. Welcoming the idea of this global ‘Electoral Democracy Summit’, Shri Rajiv Kumar said that electoral integrity and democracy go hand in hand to create global peace, prosperity and stability.
In his address, Shri Rajiv Kumar said that inclusion must cover all kinds of marginalized communities – those marginalized by region, geography, literacy, language, ethnicity, economy, gender, disability and others to ensure that their voices will be heard and they will be able to express their opinion. voting rights. These communities must have access to ensure that the entire voting process is easy and convenient. Persons with disabilities (PwD) and the elderly face attitudinal bias, lack of access to information, infrastructural barriers and many other challenges. He added that whenever a new technology is proposed to the EMB or a new service is adopted, accessibility should be part of the design itself and not added later as an afterthought. He further extended support to aspiring EMBs in designing and strengthening various technological, legal and regulatory architectures.
Highlighting the daunting task of conducting elections in India, CEC Shri Kumar said the Commission has undertaken a far-sighted reform during the Covid-19 period by introducing postal voting facility for senior citizens 80+, persons with disabilities and those who have tested positive for COVID. /suspect. He mentioned that more than 7.7 million PWD voters and 15 million voters aged 80+ have been mapped by ECI for targeted interventions and meaningful outreach. ECI constantly strives to achieve 100% mapping of all disabled and elderly voters. Women’s turnout in India’s first election was 78 million, or 45%. Seven decades and 17 national elections later, female participation has surpassed male participation, and the gender gap has not only closed, but reversed to +0.17% in 2019. India has seen a 235.72% increase in female voters since the 1971 elections.
Shri Rajiv Kumar cautioned the EMB about the opportunities and challenges arising from the ever-increasing reach through social media, which also assumes criticality in terms of legal, regulatory framework and restrictions across geographies to address fake news/stories and surrogate advertising.The CEC commended the EMB for the various initiatives they have undertaken for accessible and inclusive elections and said there is scope to explore remote voting options to include both migrant and marginalized voters to more effectively remove barriers in electoral processes.
In his speech, Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey said that accessibility issues are universal and most marginalized groups are facing obstacles in their participation in elections which has been further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He called on all EMBs to continuously strive for the inclusion and involvement of women, the third gender, PWDs, the elderly and other marginalized groups in the electoral process.
While stressing that electoral practices must be inclusive, Shri Pandey mentioned the notable initiatives taken by the Election Commission of India over the years to ensure that “no voter is left behind”, including “basic minimum facilities” in polling stations, women-managed polling stations. separate queues and toilets for women, postal voting facilities, EPIC braille, wheelchair facilities with volunteers, transport to and from the polling station, mobile applications for persons with disabilities, recognition of transgender as a third gender and creation of accessibility division under ECI among others .
In his concluding remarks, Shri Pandey commended the Asia Regional Forum platform and participants for sharing their suggestions and innovative initiatives taken by relevant election management authorities towards participatory, inclusive and accessible elections. Welcoming the participants, Chief Deputy Election Commissioner Shri Dharmendra Sharma said that ECI is proud to be involved in this forum. EMBs around the world have taken initiatives to ensure inclusive, transparent and ethical elections. This forum provides an opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other.
A recorded message from Mr. Lorenzo C. Vianello, President of the National Electoral Institute (INE) of Mexico was also shared with the participants. The meeting was attended by representatives of the electoral management bodies of Mexico, Mauritius, the Philippines, Nepal, Uzbekistan, the Maldives, International IDEA, the Association of World Electoral Authorities (A-WEB) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Senior officials from the Election Commission of India were also present in the meeting.
This Asian Regional Forum (ARF) meeting had two sessions. The first session on “Inclusive Elections: Enhancing Youth, Gender and Citizen Participation in Remote Areas” was co-chaired by the Chief Electoral Commissioner from Mauritius and Nepal. The second session on “Accessible Elections: Enhancing the Participation of Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly” was co-chaired by the Commissioner, COMELEC, Philippines and CEC of Uzbekistan.Five regional forums, namely Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Arab countries, were created under this “Global Summit for Democracy”. India organized a meeting of the EMB Asia Regional Forum to reflect on changing geopolitics, emerging technologies and their use in election management in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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