The Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation Wing formulates policies, lays down
the framework, plans interventions and monitors implementation besides carrying out
continuous discourse with voting publics, civil society groups and media. It handles work related
to all aspects of Voters’ Awareness & Education aimed towards improving Electoral
Participation in the country and building
up a culture of participative democracy among
citizens. The SVEEP Wing commenced work in late 2009. Voters’ Education and Civic Participation
• The Election Commission of India adopts a number of strategies, approaches and activities
to maximise voter participation through continuous research, national policy framework,
state plans, district plans and a whole range of communication and awareness interventions
yielding consistently higher and informed participation of voters in electoral process.
• It has a group of well-trained experts and experienced implementers in voter’s education
and civic participation.
• In a short time, the ECI acquired rich experience base and insights in getting conducted
action research, base line and end line surveys on voting behaviour and perception, using
social marketing tools.
• It promotes dissemination of knowledge, information, materials, designed to sensitize the
voters about voting process.
• It initiated new measures regarding about voter facilitation in areas of registration, issuing
voter identity cards and suggests ways and means to make the election process voter
friendly.
• Collaboration with Civil Society groups, educational institutions, youth/student volunteer
networks is another intervention strategy in the nature of both formal and informal
partnerships.
• ECI has developed special strategies to encourage participation of young and newly eligible
voters bringing about a particularly significant progress in their registration on electoral
rolls.
• The other strategies include wide-scale dissemination of information providing electoral
assistance, developing cultural habit of voting, helping voters overcome psychological
barrier, reaching out to youth voter in colleges and universities, increasing women
participation, promoting election watch and democracy platforms, designing
communication campaign, designing and producing communication materials on pilot basis
and quality control of state level products.
• Organising seminars, workshops and lectures on values of participatory democracy,
sensitization programmes for political parties, enlisting media support, making democracy
and elections as a part of curriculum in the academic institutions,• Major operational steps towards successful voter registration and voter facilitation.
• Initiate and encourage innovative measures during elections to reach out to Communities.
• Commission has engaged national and provincial icons in social, cultural and sports fields to
promote voters participation using Audio-Visual appeals.
• Media and non-media units, folk cultural groups, cable networks, marathons, rallies, human
chains, exhibition, hoardings, posters, pamphlets, leaflets, cinema slides, street plays, magic
shows are utilised with good effect.
• The Election Commission is also promoting a new programme called YUVA – Youth United
for Voter Awareness with 10 point strategy to enlist larger youth participation through youth
education.
• Baseline studies have been conducted to generate indicators for action on aspects like
enrolment, distribution of voter cards, and voter apathy in certain pockets.
• In recent elections, opinion leaders / civil society were mobilised in support of the
Commission’s message on ethical voting without inducements.
