National Voters’ Day

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    In News 

    • The 12th National Voters’ Day (NVD) was celebrated across the country on January 25.
      • NVD 2022 marks 70 successful years of elections in India.

    Highlights of the event 

    • On this occasion, the Commission conferred the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices to Officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections in different spheres. 
    • An ECI Publication ‘Leap of Faith: Journey of Indian Elections’ was released. 
      • The book narrates India’s electoral history and the growth of representative and electoral principles in India as it evolved from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. 
    • A national voter awareness contest on social media- ‘My Vote is my Future- Power of One Vote’ launched to reiterate the importance of every vote through creative expression for the ongoing Assembly Elections 2022. 

    About National Voters’ Day

    • It has been celebrated all over the country on January 25 every year since 2011 to mark the Foundation Day of the Election Commission of India, which was established on this day in the year 1950. 
    • Theme:  ‘Making Elections Inclusive, Accessible and Participative’, envisages focus on ECI’s commitment to facilitate the active participation of voters during the elections and to make the complete process hassle-free and a memorable experience for all categories of voters.
    • NVD celebrations every year remind us of the constitutional obligation of the  commission based on the premise of No Voter to be Left Behind. 
    • Objectives: 
      • To highlight the importance of each vote in a democracy; encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrollment of new voters and also enhance the participation of voters.
      • To spread awareness among voters and to promote informed participation in the electoral process. 

    Constitutional Provisions 

    • Article 326 of the Constitution initially provides that the elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage, that is to say, a person should not be less than 21 years of age. 
      • The Sixty-first Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1989, lowered the voting age of elections to the Lok Sabha and to the Legislative Assemblies of States from 21 years to 18 years. 
      • The lowering of the voting age provided the unrepresented youth of the country an opportunity to express their feelings and help them to become a part of the political process. 

    Source:PIB

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