ECI

Brief Profiles of Countries, EMBs and Partner Organisations of A-WEB (January 2020)
 
 
 

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK BROCHURE 

MY VOTE MATTERS
A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
April - June 2019, VOL-I, Issue-II

My Vote Matters Edition-1 January, 2019 (English & Hindi)

This issue of Voice international brings to you a very rich experience on the subject from different countries such as Georgia, Russia, IFES(Ukraine), Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Tunisia, and other countries. We , in India, have recently conducted General Elections 2019. Marked with robust innovation, new initiatives and state-of-the-art technologies, the experience is shared through a set of comprehensive articles in the Issue. Further, the Issue also brings to you election updates and several other related readings of interests from across the world.

“Voter Education for Informed & Ethical Voting” is important for health of democracy and as such requires investment in empowering voters through information, awareness and motivation for participation besides enabling a voter to appreciate significance and relevance of ethical voting.

In this issue, we bring to you experiences of different EMBs on “Making Polling Stations Accessible and Voter Friendly” besides some articles on “Inclusion and Equal Access” and much more in intresting presentations.

In this issue, we bring to you a bouquet of articles on the theme ‘Voter Education through Educational Institutions’. This theme primarily focuses on introducing greater electoral awareness and sensitivity for future generations of voters and electoral participants, an issue that has great significance and relevance for investment in the future of Electoral Democracy.

Through this issue, we bring to you the knowledge and experience on ‘Digital Technology and Social Media for Voter Education’ with rich contributions from the EMBs of Brazil, Ecuador, Fiji, India, Iraq, Kenya (by IFES) and Nepal besides an article from IFES. Expert contribution through in-house research brings comprehensive and analytical information on the subject in relation to Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom and The United States of America in the form of ‘Insights’. Further, we have added a special section with articles dedicated to ‘Inclusion of PwDs’ in electoral process in line with theme adopted for celebration of 8th National Voters’ Day of India. The section carries highlights of the International Conference organized by the ECI, on the subject, and rich experience sharing from Australia, Bhutan, Ecuador, India and Moldova, International IDEA and IFES etc. I thank the authors of the articles and compliment them for their valuable contributionto enrich knowledge base and experience sharing for the readership of VoICE International

The fourth issue of VoICE International that marks the completion of Volume I. VoICE.NET has further grown with joining in of the EMBs of Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe and Taiwan as the new members of the VoICE International. That takes our membership to 27 which includes 24 EMBs and 3 Expert International Institutions.

The third issue of VoICE International with a robust response and an encouraging participation from democracies across the world.

The second quarterly issue of the VoICE International with the central theme ‘Gender: Voter Education for Enhancing Women’s Participation’. This issue of the VoICE International seeks to present the experiences of different countries for knowledge sharing and learn from each for enhancing women’s electoral participation

The inaugural issue of VoICE International appears as a knowledge platform where we get to learn from each other through our constant sharing of rich and vibrant experiences and major initiatives undertaken with regards to voter education. It may not be picture perfect at the moment, but we are confident that it will hugely evolve as time progresses with more contributions in future issues. 

The National Consultation on Accessible Elections opened with an enthusiastic start with the participation of more than 50 Civil Society Organizations and all the Chief Electoral Officers of States/UTs besides members of National Political Parties and Ministries, Government of India.Reaffirming ECI’s commitment to make elections entirely inclusive, accessible and hassle free for PwDs, Chief Election Commissioner Mr O P Rawat said in the inaugural session - “Despite having International, National laws and treaties or procedures in place, there is still a gap in reaching out to PwDs because of the apathy towards electoral process. I urge all the participants to suggest effective measures and help us devise a policy that can serve as a model framework for all Election Management Bodies of the world. Master Ram Chandra, a technician who was instrumental in creating the Jaipur Foot, which is now famous worldwide for providing assistance to PwDs and like him there are many famous as well as unsung heroes who are the part of war against disability.”

The International Seminar on Strategies for Empowering Young and Future Voters is an important milestone in our endeavour to consolidate and move further in practice of citizenship development for electoral participation critical to investment in democracy, its deepening and sustenance. We had with us, the Heads of the Election Management Bodies, Institutions of Excellence and Experts who brought scholarship, knowledge and rich experience from across the democracies of the world for the cause of voter education for empowering young and future voters. The event came as a part of the National voter’s Day celebrations and was marked by the signing of Memoranda of Understanding with Australia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Fiji and Nepal for cooperation in the field of election management.
As the first event on VoICE.NET Knowledge Platform, the Seminar Proceedings witnessed an impressive launch of the Inaugural Issue of the VoICE International, the quarterly e-magazine on the VoICE.NET Platform. The Issue carried a special section dedicated to ‘Strategies for Empowering Young and Future Voters’ aimed at a yet larger knowledge dissemination and value addition to our knowledge resources for empowering young and future voters. We celebrate the value that was created and keep up the tradition for the cause of young people in democracies of the world. 

This Conference Reader ‘Strategies to Empower Young and Future Voters’ visits the strategies, initiatives and experiences from participating EMB’s and international institutions besides Readings intended not only to support the interaction during the conference but a continued dialogue to enrich the knowledge base for sharing on the VoICE.NET platform. 
 
The Conference Reader that has been prepared in the Election Commission of India for supporting and facilitating the interaction during the Seminar. The Reader carries important papers from the Participating EMB’s, International Organizations besides the additional Readings on the subject developed through in house expertise in the ECI. We intend placing this document
and the deliberations of the Seminar on the VoICE.NET Platform for a continued dialogue on ‘Knowledge Sharing’ for the cause of ‘Young and Future Voters’ in the Democracies of the world.

The Conference aims at coming up with a resolution emerging from the experience of all participants on how to strengthen Inclusive, Informed and Ethical electoral participation.
Contents
PART I -  Election Commission of India and Voter Education
PART II - Concept Paper
PART III - Agenda
PART IV - Thematic Sessions and related Best Practices
PART V - Delegates from Election Management Bodies
PART VI - Experts

International Conference on Voter Education for Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation
Background
'I have the power', this realisation of the importance of the power of the fundamental right to vote and the difference it can make to their lives and the nation makes the Voter the central actor in democratic election process. Is voting just a right, a duty, a voluntary action or an empowering collective journey taken by a huge number of people deciding not the fate of the candidate but their own? Who the voter decides to vote for is their individual choice and decision, but the voter should surely and definitely participate in the election process. Can we empower, inform, engage, and facilitate the voter to do so? Can we understand their reasons and perceptions, beliefs and motivations, barriers and challenges, experiences (good, bad, ugly) and their habits, contexts and contours that shape their decision to cast or not to cast their vote? Can we motivate the voter to realise the power, feel the power, believe in that power and energise him/her to take that call that their one vote can and does make the difference. It is an immense challenge given the diversity, geography, socio-culture-faith factors, family- community dynamics, gender bias, disability and sometime just the habit of apathy, indifference and laziness. Voting is not just a physical action; it is not just a management or logistic issue; it is not just a matter or right or duty; it is harnessing the power of one.
Voters™ Participation in the democratic and electoral processes is integral to the successful running of any democracy and the very basis of wholesome democratic elections. Thus, it becomes an integral part of election management.
Inclusion™ is prioritised in article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) with stipulates that every citizen must be provided the right and opportunity, without discrimination based on distinctions of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status and without unreasonable restrictions, to vote and to be elected.
Abuse of money and muscle power in elections, destroys the level playing field. It distorts the spirit of democracy. ‘Quality electoral participation’, in terms of making an informed choice without consideration of any inducement, is the bedrock of a vibrant democracy.
Thus Inclusive Voter education needs to be given due and strong emphasis with the kind of seriousness and depth it deserves by the election management bodies. Voters™ education is not only the correct but also the most appropriate way to improve participation in a democracy compared to any other alternative. Realizing this, several countries in fact have voters™ education as part of their constitutional mandate.
Voter Education is a continuous process and has an important role in all phases of the Electoral Cycle
Stakeholders of Voter Education process
Election Managements Bodies
All Eligible Citizens
Prospective Electors
Political Parties
NGOs and CSOs
Media
Corporate Sector
International Community
IIn the aforementioned backdrop, Election Commission of India proposes to organise an international conference on ‘Voter Education for Inclusive, Informed and Ethical Participation’ from 19-21st October 2016.
Objectives
to study the best practices by EMBs towards promoting inclusive, informed and ethical electoral participation; identify the roles that different stakeholders can play ; assess challenges related to voter education – and ways to tackle them to explore ways and means to impart electoral literacy through curricula and extra-curricula in educational institutions to explore successful methods of imparting electoral literacy to population outside formal sector of educational institutions to explore role of technology in voter education to look at policies and practices that can support inclusive, informed and ethical electoral participation to assess the impact of voter education in supporting informed and ethical participation in electoral democracy Structure of the Conference
In order to allow for a successful Conference, the participants present experiences and successful practices in the field of voter education leading to inclusive and informed electoral participation in their areas of work. Special initiatives for reaching out to special group of voters like defence forces, overseas citizens etc may also be presented. Other actors that are involved in electoral processes, like CSOs, Media representatives, partner departments who have worked towards participation of women, marginalised groups (e.g. people with disabilities, indigenous peoples etc) would also be able to give a perspective.
The Conference aims to showcase and elicit good practices – as well as their potential for replication in other contexts – and to provide EMBs with comparative information, data, experiences and examples to mainstream electoral literacy. Moreover, the Conference will aim at coming up with conclusions emerging from the experience of all participants on how to strengthen informed and ethical electoral participation, be it through legal frameworks or different policies.
Topics:
Electoral Literacy in formal education : Voter education in curricula and extra curricula Inclusive Electoral Literacy through informal education channel: Reaching out to those outside schools and other marginalised groups i.e. Persons with Disability (PwDs), women, people working in unorganized labour sector, tribals etc) Enhancement of participation by special categories of voters: Outreach for defence personnel, diplomatic mission personnel, polling personnel and overseas citizens Role of Information and Communication Technology for Voter Education & Feedback: Technology use for dialogue with the stakeholders including feedback, surveys etc Voter Education for Informed and Ethical Voting: Building awareness for quality electoral participation among voters and other stakeholders like political parties, candidates, CSOs etc Papers on the topic are invited on select theme so as to group the participants into different thematic groups for sharing of their best practice. The papers shall also be documented in the form of a Conference Reader and shared ahead of the Conference.
A display section shall also be provided at the venue to exhibit the material being used across countries for Voter Education. Participants are required to bring along literature and tool kits that they would want to showcase and share besides the exhibits and audio-visuals for display.