New Delhi, Jan 25 (PTI) Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh on Tuesday said his office is moving forward in line with the Election Commission's vision of leaving no voter behind as evidenced in the outcomes of the recent special summary revision exercise.

On the occasion of National Voters' Day, he also said this occasion is to encourage, facilitate, and maximise voter registration and participation, particularly among first-time voters.

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The theme for the 12th National Voters' Day set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is 'making elections inclusive, accessible and participative'.

"Voters are the backbone of a democracy. Our constant endeavour is to educate, motivate, facilitate, engage and empower the voters so that they could play their democratic role more and more effectively. Let's renew our commitment for making elections truly inclusive, accessible and participative on this special occasion," Singh told reporters.

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He also said the vision of the ECI is 'no voter to be left behind'.

"The Special Summary Revision outcomes as seen in the final electoral roll signify our march towards the ECI's vision of 'no voter to be left behind'", the CEO was quoted as saying in an official statement on Tuesday.

He thanked all officers and officials of the office of the CEO for working tenaciously to "make the SSR-2022 a success".

Delhi's electoral roll witnessed an increase of 1.03 lakh voters, including 84 third gender electors, even as 31 more polling stations were added during the pandemic, the CEO had said on January 5.

Delhi's final electoral roll was published on January 5 and it showed that the gender ratio of voters registered on the final electoral roll had also risen from 826 last year to 831.

During the special summary revision-2022 (SSR-2022), held from November 1-30, any person who had turned 18 years or more on or before January 1, 2022 was eligible to enrol as a voter.

Officials in the Delhi CEO had earlier said the exercise was carried out as "festival for the electorate", and was "very fruitful".

On Tuesday, all participants took a pledge to uphold the democratic traditions of India and to vote in an ethical manner in every election, Singh said.

He also appealed to the youth to get themselves registered and urged voters to exercise their franchise in every election, and take a decision to cast a ballot based on their conscience.

On the occasion of National Voter's Day, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, in a national-level function, presented an award for the 'Best Electoral Practices' to J L Gupta, OSD to the CEO of Delhi, for his contribution towards promotion of electoral literacy clubs in Delhi, officials said.

He is the director in Information Technology under the Ministry of Telecommunications, and is currently working in the CEO office in Delhi, they said.

During the function, several first-time voters of Delhi of diverse categories were felicitated and given their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC), the statement said.

Since 2011, January 25 has been commemorated as National Voters' Day across the country to celebrate the foundation day of the ECI.

The day is devoted to the country's voters and is intended to improve voter awareness and encourage their informed involvement in the electoral process.

Delhi State Election Commissioner, S K Srivastava; UT Election Commission Chairman Narender Kumar, and state icons Alaknanda Das Gupta, Neeraj Yadav, Ankur Dhama, were present on the occasion, officials said.

One of the attendees also suggested looking into the scope for online voting facility given the pandemic situation.

Various awards were given to several officers in multiple categories on the occasion.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)