Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday called upon educational institutions to play a greater role in strengthening trust in the electoral process, promoting electoral literacy and encouraging informed democratic participation among young citizens.
Addressing a conference on “Electoral Literacy Clubs and ECINet” at Gyan Bhawan in Patna, Kumar launched Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0), an initiative aimed at creating structured and digitally enabled platforms for electoral education across schools, colleges and universities.
The CEC said elections in India are conducted strictly in accordance with the Constitution, laws and instructions issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI). He emphasised that the electoral process is conducted transparently under the concurrent audit of political parties, candidates and their representatives at different stages.
Kumar stressed the need to familiarise students and young voters with India’s electoral system, democratic values, voter registration, polling and counting procedures, as well as the role and functioning of the Election Commission.
He said engaging young citizens and building their trust and informed participation in elections was an investment in the future of democracy.
‘Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.’
The new logo of the Electoral Literacy Club was unveiled during the event along with its new tagline, “Learn Democracy. Lead Democracy.”
The tagline aims to encourage young and first-time voters not only to understand democratic processes but also to participate meaningfully and contribute to their development.
Under ELC 2.0, Electoral Literacy Clubs will function as visible, structured and digitally enabled platforms offering year-round activities to promote electoral literacy among young citizens and spread electoral awareness among their families, institutions and communities.
ELC 2.0 to use ECINet digital platform
The initiative will leverage the ECI’s ECINet digital platform, which provides election-related services from electoral rolls to polling through a single platform.
A dedicated ELC portal on ECINet will be used to develop a streamlined pan-India network of Electoral Literacy Clubs.
The initiative gains significance given India’s extensive educational network, which includes 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.
Through this network, ELC 2.0 aims to promote factual and experiential electoral education and enhance awareness of the transparency, integrity and credibility of India’s electoral system.
The clubs are also expected to encourage young citizens to become ambassadors of informed democratic participation and provide information on various stages of the electoral process, including registration, polling and counting.
They will also disseminate information about the ECINET App and other key initiatives of the Election Commission.
CEC meets Booth Level Officers
Earlier, Kumar held a meeting with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) at the Rajgir International Convention Centre in Nalanda.
During his two-day visit to Bihar on August 16 and 17, the CEC also undertook field visits to Madhubani, Vaishali and Nalanda.
