"Every vote strengthens democracy": Haryana Chief Electoral Officer

New Delhi [India], September 20 : Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal, said that the Election Commission of India, along with the Chief Electoral Officer's office, has implemented special measures to increase the voting percentage in the 15th Haryana Legislative Assembly General Election on October 5, compared to the last election.
Voters are being encouraged to cast their votes through various SVEEP activities, including slogan writing, painting, street plays, and poster making.
The Chief Electoral Officer further said that the voters of Haryana are politically aware. In both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the voting percentage here has consistently been higher than other states.
"In the last Assembly elections, the voter turnout was 68.31 percent. To further increase participation this time, it is the duty and right of every citizen, along with the Commission, to take part in the "Festival of Democracy - Pride of the State" during the Haryana Assembly Elections 2024 by casting their valuable vote, as every vote contributes to a higher turnout," he said.
Agarwal further said that a team of senior officials from the Election Commission of India recently visited Haryana to review preparations for the Assembly elections. The team asked the officials to focus on increasing the voting percentage as much as possible.
The voters of Haryana are already politically aware, having discussions about the elections actively in 'Chaupals' and at 'Khat-Mudhas'. Therefore, there is no reason why the voting percentage cannot increase in Haryana, he added.
He said that yesterday the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officers, Superintendents of Police, and other officers and employees involved in the election process, including the Chief Electoral Officer's office, assured the Election Commission officials that effort shall be made to increase the voting percentage by 5 percent as compared to the last Assembly elections.
"Every vote cast by the citizens is not just a mark on a finger but a new ray of hope for a strong democracy," he added.
He said that aware voters turn the activities run under the SVEEP initiative into a campaign to increase voter turnout and play an important role in enhancing participation.
"To increase the voting percentage in the Assembly General Elections, all districts in the state are actively engaged in promoting voting awareness campaigns, with significant participation from educational institutions and various departments. Besides, mehndi and painting competitions organized by students from schools and colleges, rallies are being taken out in villages to encourage voters to increase participation in the elections. These efforts are playing an important role in raising voter awareness," he said.
Agarwal said that the administration is actively and effectively fulfilling its responsibility on social media platforms to promote voter awareness and encourage participation in the electoral process. The significance of each vote is communicated to voters through various SVEEP campaigns. The citizens of the state should participate enthusiastically in the great festival of democracy on voting day, i.e., October 5.
Voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will be held on October 5. Votes will be counted on October 8 along with that in Jammu and Kashmir.