Students are torchbearers of tomorrow's democracy: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Ahmedabad: Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Friday that today's students are the torchbearers of tomorrow's democracy and the poll panel's Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) across India will help strengthen the backbone of the world's oldest and largest democracy.

Addressing the fifth regional conference on "Electoral Literacy Clubs and ECINET", CEC Kumar underlined the need for students and young electors to familiarise themselves with India's electoral system, democratic values, electoral registration, polling and counting processes, and the role and functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

CEC Gyanesh Kumar described students as the future of the nation, saying that ELCs are imperative in carrying forth the understanding of electoral processes and enriching democracy, an official statement said.

He emphasised that engaging young citizens and securing their trust and informed participation in the electoral process is an investment in the future of democracy.

CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that elections in India are held strictly as per the Constitution of India, law and instructions issued by ECI and are conducted transparently under the concurrent audit of political parties, candidates or their representatives at all stages.

ELC 2.0, with the tagline "Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy", reimagines Electoral Literacy Clubs as structured, visible and digitally-enabled platforms across schools, colleges and universities, encouraging young and first-time voters to understand and meaningfully participate in democracy, the statement said.

Leveraging the extensive ECINET digital platform, which provides all election-related services from roll to poll, the initiative will drive continuous, year-round electoral literacy activities through a dedicated ELC portal, building a streamlined pan-India network of ELCs.

The initiative assumes significance in view of India's extensive educational ecosystem, comprising around 15 lakh schools with nearly 25 crore students and more than one crore teachers.

The higher education sector comprises nearly 1,500 universities and around 70,000 educational institutions, with an estimated enrolment of 4.33 crore students.

The earlier regional conferences on "Electoral Literacy Clubs and ECINET" were held at Patna (Bihar), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Margao (Goa).

Earlier on Friday, in an interactive session with more than 500 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) of Gujarat, CEC Gyanesh Kumar congratulated the BLOs for their service which resulted in smooth execution of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, the statement said.

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