4. Voter Education and Participation

There is scope for a much larger and committed partnership from media in the crucial area of voter awareness and participation. This is one of the most promising areas of the Election Commission-media relationship.

There is a gap between what the voters 'should know’ and what they 'actually know’ in important areas like registration, EPIC/ identity proofs, Polling Station location, use of EVMs, timings of the poll, use of money/ muscle power by candidates etc. The elector should be well-informed when he/she goes to exercise his/ her franchise on the day of the polls.

Voter education helps build an environment where values of democracy are understood and acted upon by the population. Media and civil society have an important role to play in fostering such an environment. To improve participation of all sections of the electorate, awareness levels need to be enhanced, especially amongst the freshly eligible youth, uneducated, residents of far-flung, inaccessible and remote areas, and socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Such segments need to be reached through the Media, apart from civil society and field based organisations. The Election Commission has in place a framework of engagement for collaboration between the Commission and Media Houses/ Organisations in this important area of voter participation. The Election Commission expects that the Media should volunteer to take up this task of informing, motivating and facilitating citizens to take part in the democratic elections.