In an exclusive interview with Trithesh Nandan,VS Sampath, chief election commissioner explains how the election commission (EC) has ensured that. He also assures us that the EC is not going to lose momentum, and plans are already afoot to ensure more voter participation in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Edited excerpts from the interview:

Recent years have witnessed a heart-warming trend: more and more people are participating in democracy. Instead of apathy of previous years, now we have a voter turnout going above 70 percent. This is not limited to a particular demographic – it applies equally to all states and also the aggregate at national level. How do you see this development?

Yes, we are happy about this turnaround. The trend of decreasing voter turnout is global, especially in countries where democracy is reasonably old. India falls into this category as our democracy is now 66 years old. You will notice across most states in India too a trend of decline in turnout in assembly elections over the past two decades. The national turnout has been virtually stagnating at a lower figure of around 58-60 percent over the past Lok Sabha elections.

The election commission (EC) took a conscious decision in late 2009 to stem the decline and accordingly a programme was formulated and implemented in all the state elections since late 2009 to enhance people’s participation in electoral process. I see the increasing trend since 2010 mainly due to this effort. The commission has been monitoring and evaluating the trend since 2009 Jharkhand assembly elections in the past 23 general elections to state assemblies.
The EC’s effort also explains the magnitude of the phenomenon.

Can you tell us more about this effort to motivate voters?

Since late 2009, the commission has taken up a national programme on voter education and awareness to enhance people’s participation in the electoral process, including registration and voting. The programme is called ‘Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation’ (SVEEP). The three main aspects of the SVEEP programme are information, motivation and facilitation – ‘IMF’. The gaps in information and motivation are attempted to be bridged and all possible facilitation is carried out to make the registration and voting experience convenient and pleasant for the voters.
Introducing women-focused components in the programme has been a conscious effort to bridge the gender gap in electoral participation. We also seek to address the gap in youth participation, urban apathy and inclusion of various marginalised sections of society in a similar campaign mode.

Any particular examples of top-gear turnout in recent times?

The voter turnout has been historic in 13 of the last 23 elections to state assemblies since 2009, meaning it has been the highest ever in the history of the state. The biggest jump was in the voter turnout in Uttar Pradesh in 2012 when the turnout percentage rose by more than 14 percent over the previous assembly election. UP is of course the most populated state in the country and also among the most difficult in terms of participation in elections. Even in traditionally high turnout states like Goa the increase in 2012 was a spectacular 12 percent over the previous assembly elections.
In the latest round of elections, Rajasthan has been the leader with an increase in turnout at 8.81 percent over the previous assembly elections while in Chhattisgarh it has been 6.66 percent and in Delhi 7.55 percent.

Focus on women in SVEEP has also yielded results. Sixteen out of the last 23 assembly elections since late 2009 saw a higher women turnout percentage than men. This includes the likes of Bihar, UP and Rajasthan, which have some of the traditional societies with gender issues. For the first time in the history of Bihar and UP and more recently in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, the women turnout percentage was higher than that for men.
Also in all the 23 assembly elections from Jharkhand to Delhi, the turnout percentage of women rose substantially. While UP saw an increase of 18 percent in women turnout percentage, Rajasthan showed an increase of 10 percent, and high turnout state like Goa showed an increase of 14 percent. Uttarakhand, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh showed around 8-9% increase in women turnout percentage.

Analysts have pointed that higher turnout was due to improved housekeeping by ECI.

The SVEEP has of course played a major impact, as it has all three components of information, motivation and facilitation. Measures have been taken to facilitate voters through easy name search on voters list, locating polling station, fast disposal of claims, quick issue of duplicate EPIC, etc. Steps have also been taken to make voting a pleasant experience, through providing ramps for physically challenged, adequate lighting and toilet facility, simple things like providing clean drinking water at polling station and even extending polling hours in view of weather etc.

Besides SVEEP, the EC has also taken serious measures to clean up the electoral roll and weed out dead and ghost names on the voters list. Security has been provided to remove fear among marginal sections, vulnerable pockets have been identified for further facilitation measures etc. These have also contributed to the increase in the voting percentage. SVEEP has helped us significantly in enrolment drive, particularly in enrolling the newly eligible 18-19 age group. We are trying to make sure that both demand and supply side measures are in place. We would like to see the civil society, the media and the corporate to come out in higher strength to join this venture of enhanced participation. We have created frameworks of collaboration for all to work together.

The EC has been at the forefront the debate on electoral reforms, especially those relating to party-internal democracy and allowing a certain amount of freedom of expression for MPs. Will the trend of higher voter turnouts force parties to give their MPs and more space to work?

If 80 percent of people turn up and select representatives, its sanctity is much higher than if 40 percent voter come and vote. Every election should have higher voter participation. Any democracy is meaningful when it has high voter participation.

Youngsters form a majority of voters. How did you persuade them to come out and vote?

The interventions targeted at youth have mainly been motivational besides making registration easy and voting pleasant for them. We have been able to engage with youth in their own ways. Online registration has been strengthened. Social media is being used by our state and district level officers to reach out to the youth. They are gradually accepting elections as a matter of pride and as a youthful event. Educational institutions and youth outfits have been wonderful partners in this effort.

One of the problems of low voter turnouts in a first-past-the-post system has been that small blocks of voters based on caste, regions or religion can hold sway and throw up fractured verdicts, increasing the degree of difficulty for governance and policy-making. Do you think swelling voter turnout at least partly addresses that problem?And, do you also think that Indian democracy is getting deepened? What does this trend mean for polity?

It is definitely getting wider and we have made all out efforts to include all sections of society. Our aim is to enrol every eligible citizen on the electoral roll, and motivate everyone on the roll to cast their vote voluntarily. This would add representational depths to our legislators and our system of governance. The higher voter turnout would result in election and selection of right type of candidates.

Do you foresee 90 percent-plus turnouts?

Ninety percent turnout is not farfetched as some states have a turnout touching 90 percent. Tripura in the 2013 assembly elections made an all-India record turnout of 93.57 percent. Similarly most states in the northeast, West Bengal, Goa and also in the south have had high turnout in assembly elections more than 80 percent. Our aspiration will be to take turnout in these states to closer to 90 percent and above in assembly elections.

However, the turnout in the same states has been much lower for the Lok Sabha elections. The gap in turnout in assembly elections and LS elections has been similar in almost all states. The challenge for the commission as of today is to take the voter participation to higher levels in the parliamentary elections, and more immediately in the national turnout for upcoming general elections.

What efforts did the EC take to eliminate bogus voting?

With the introduction of photo electoral rolls (PER), EPIC and photo voter slips, the chances for bogus voting are minimised. Now the coverage of the PER is nearly 100 percent across the country and wherever gaps exist we are in a mission mode to cover the last-mile gap. Besides, efforts have been made to weed out ghost names on electoral roll through special drives. This further removes the chances of bogus voting.

Voter turnout was high even in Maoism-affected areas of Chhattisgarh. What steps did you take to remove fear from the minds of voters?

There were special drives in these areas to make voters feel secure ahead of the poll day. The local police and administration engaged with the electors for instilling in them faith in the security of voting. The SVEEP programme for these regions was also adapted to suit to the existing situation in close coordination with the police deployed in the area.

Film stars and other celebrities also campaigned to motivate voters. How successful was their campaign?

The EC has four national icons – former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, MS Dhoni, Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom. Besides these national icons, all states have appointed regional icons and we are proud to have personalities from various walks of life as icons like actors, sportsperson, artists, intellectuals, society leaders and scientists. In one of the districts in Meghalaya, 80+ senior citizens were made icons to motivate people of the district to participate in elections. Engaging popular personalities to promote registration and voting helps contribute to the SVEEP efforts.

How are you gearing for a high turnout for upcoming Lok Sabha elections?

We do not want to lose the momentum. The mechanisms are in place at district and state levels. We have already some surveys done in most of the states to understand the reasons of non-participation. Ten percent of the lowest turnout polling stations in the last Lok Sabha elections have been identified in each district and reasons have been determined for the same. Targeted interventions have been formulated based on these findings. In addition, interventions are planned for bridging the three main gaps, that is, gender gap, urban apathy and youth disconnect. District and state plans have been already formulated. Activities have been taken up on project mode with rigorous monitoring. The forthcoming national voters’ day on January 25 should help build a countrywide environment for larger electoral participation.