CEC Sushil Chandra appreciates innovative & localized solutions implemented by field officers to overcome barriers faced by voters

Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has said that the country has yet again conducted elections in five States with 183.4 million electors across 690 Assembly Constituencies despite challenges posed by the Covid pandemic. He said, this makes India's electoral system more inclusive, accessible and participative. While highlighting the various initiatives taken by Election Commission of India for facilitating senior citizens, person with disability and women voters, Mr. Chandra appreciated the innovative and localized solutions implemented by field officers to overcome barriers faced by the voters. He said, over 11 million new voters were added for the ongoing elections in the five states. He said, a total of over 2.15 lakh polling stations were set up in five states which has been an increase of nearly 31 thousand polling stations from previous elections of 2017. He said, polling personnel crossed tough terrains and snow covered regions in Uttarakhand and also reached out to remote and sensitive regions in Manipur, even if the polling parties had to be airlifted or traverse on foot in those regions. He said, efforts by expenditure monitoring teams ensured inducement-free elections. Mr. Chandra was speaking today in a virtual International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2022 for Election Management Bodies from nearly 32 Countries and four international organizations hosted by Election Commission of India. An overview of the ongoing elections for Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh was presented to more than 150 delegates.