National voters’ day – january 25

 

(Election Commission of India)

January 25, 2024

“National Voters’ Day is an occasion to appreciate the remarkable contribution of the EC to strengthen our democratic fabric and ensure smooth conduct of elections. This is also a day to spread awareness on the need of ensuring voter registration, particularly among the youth.”

- Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Significance of National Voters’ Day

Since 2011, the National Voters’ Day (NVD) has been celebrated on January 25 every year to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI),which was established on this day in the year 1950. The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to encourage, facilitate, and maximize voter enrolment, especially the new voters. Dedicated to the country's voters, the Day is celebrated to spread awareness among them to promote informed participation in the electoral process.NVD is celebrated at the national, state, district, constituency, and polling booth levels, which makes it one of the largest celebrations in the country.

(The Population Census of India was last conducted in 2011)

With 91.2 Crore eligible voters, India is the largest democracy in the world.Due to the relentless efforts of the ECI, there is a steady increase in the voting turnout (percentage) as evident from the chart below. Further, there has been a 5-fold increase in the number of polling stations.

 

Voters’ Pledge:

“We, the citizens of India, having abiding faith in democracy, hereby pledge to uphold the democratic traditions of our country and the dignity of free, fair and peaceful elections, and to vote in every election fearlessly and without being influenced by considerations of religion, race, caste, community, language or any inducement.”

14^th National Voters’ Day (NVD)

On January 25, 2024, the Election Commission of India celebrates its 75th year of service to the Nation. 14th National Voters’ Day (NVD), celebrationswere graced by the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu was the Chief Guest at the national function being organized in New Delhi by the Election Commission of India. Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal waspresent at the function as Guest of Honour. The event was also attended by Heads and representatives of Election Management bodies viz. Maldives, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. 

Dedicated to the voters, the NVD 2024 theme is‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For Sure’and is a continuation of last year's theme.To mark this momentous occasion, and in light of the 2024 Parliamentary Elections – a commemorative postage stamp themed "Inclusive Elections" was released.

During the event, the Hon’ble President presented the Best Electoral Practices Awards for the year 2023. The awards were presented to State and District level officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections during 2023 in different spheres such as IT initiatives, Security Management, Election Management, Accessible Election, Electoral Roll, and contribution in the field of voter awareness and outreach. Awards were also given to important stakeholders including government departments, and media organizations for their valuable contribution towards voters’ awareness.

• The first copy of the ECI Publication ‘ECI Initiatives for General Elections 2024’ was presented to the Hon’ble President by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar.
• A short voter awareness film - ‘My Vote My Duty’ produced by ECI in association with renowned filmmaker Shri Raj Kumar Hirani was also screened.
• On the occasion, an innovative multi-media campaign for Voter Education and Awareness for the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections 2024 was also launched.

· A multimedia exhibition showcasing the grandeur of Indian elections, electoral reforms, technological advancements, and election management innovations was also displayed.

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Nimish Rustagi/Himanshu Pathak/Ritu Kataria/Pinak Pani Datta

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