Country is proud of Pondy for peaceful elections, high percentage of participation by voters: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Puducherry: CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday said that the country is proud of Puducherry for peaceful elections and also the higher percentage of participation by the electorate in the polls in the past.

Addressing reporters after holding meetings with the leaders of various political parties and also the officials of the Elections Department in the context of the upcoming Assembly polls in Puducherry, the Chief Election Commissioner said the entire electoral staff and also political party leaders had given them a commitment that this time "the Union Territory of Puducherry is going to be a model for the entire country".

The CEC said that the Commission had framed 20 new initiatives, which included the candidates' photos that would be only in colour as part of ease of voting and for easy selection by the electorate.

Kumar said the country is proud of Puducherry for peaceful elections and also higher percentage of participation by the electorate in the polls. In the last Assembly election, the union territory saw 82 per cent polling, he said.

He said that the unanimous opinion of all political parties who had participated in the meeting with the Commission was that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Puducherry was a "grand success".

The CEC said that the entire kudos should go to the booth level officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, all the District Election Officers and to the Puducherry Chief Electoral Officer, who is the leader of the team.

He said that the objective of SIR is very clear as it aims at having a pure electoral roll which is the bedrock of any democracy. No eligible voter should be excluded and no ineligible voter should be included. With this objective, the team of election officers at all levels worked hard. The overall voters strength now at the end of SIR in Puducherry stands at 9,44,211. Women voters with a strength of around 5 lakh outnumber the male voters -- 4.43 lakh.

The CEC said that the elections were being held as per the Constitution.

"Officers were told at the review meeting earlier that they should enforce rule of law strictly without fear or favour. Inducements by way of cash or freebies or in any other form should be curbed".

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Puducherry CEO P Jawahar and the District Election Officer A Kulothungan were also present.

The CEC and his team also had a meeting with the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Puducherry.