Page 14 - VIS - Newsletter

October/2023

One must try to develop these qualities by As the former Chief Election Commissioner
observing, reading, and learning. And sometimes of our country and a citizen, what do you
even on our own, by reflecting on our
think is the prime reason for low turnout for
experiences. For instance, when a problem
voting and how can it be improved?
comes, how do you tackle it? It must be dealt with
Voter turnout varies from place to place, country
by thinking calmly and without feeling agitated. It
to country. In Western countries it is hardly 60%,
is a combination of these factors that develop
whereas in India it is between 60% and 70%. In
leadership.
fact in states like Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh,
and Gujarat, it is 80-90%. In the recently
What are some of the challenges faced when conducted elections in the North East, we had an

an election official goes to remote areas to 80% voter turnout. It varies from state to state. In
collect votes from a small number of voters? order to encourage citizens to vote, a lot of
There are a few high-risk areas where the awareness programmes and literature is
election commission sends its officers to set up distributed by the Election Commission. They

booths, particularly in Sikkim and Jammu and conduct school visits to educate the youth on the
Kashmir. It is very difficult to conduct elections importance of voting. In my opinion, over the last
here. However, the official is provided with few years, there has been an improvement in the
necessary security apart from stay, etc. The voter turnout, but the international pattern is a
challenges faced by them can be varied. It could decrease in the same. There could be various
be the weather, like in Sikkim where it is snowing reasons for this. One of the reasons is that the

throughout. There could also be difficulties in youth are not keen to stand in a queue to vote.
reaching the voters: in Rajasthan we need to use They think it is a waste of time and question
camels to carry the officials and equipment, while whether their vote will actually make a
in Assam election officials have to go by elephant. difference. This attitude is wrong and we are
In fact, if you read my book (“The Miracle of trying our best to change it.
Democracy”), the cover page shows an election
official trying to climb an elephant in order to get Tharun S (9B) & Shri Hari Santosh (9A).

to the location. While these are environmental
challenges, there are human challenges too -
SILBERZWEIG-ABSTRACT ART
some political parties can be violent. For instance,
in J&K there is always the threat of terrorism,
both homegrown and cross-border. Similarly, in

Sikkim, near the highest-located polling booth
where it borders China, there can be skirmishes
between the guards and so on. Social conflicts
pose a challenge as well. In certain locations,
there are festival seasons during which we do not
conduct our polls, but due to unavoidable
spillovers there can be unrest between groups.
Nevertheless, we have exhaustive instructions

for the officials; we provide a large amount of
support and ways for the officer to communicate
KESHAV (7)
with higher officials in case of an emergency.