New Delhi, Aug 11 : Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said that no democracy will ever be aspirational and meaningful, only if it is inclusive to all citizens, accessible without fear or favor, and Participative despite the different economic, political, or social weaknesses. The CEC addressed an online meeting of the Asian Regional Forum’ with the topic “Making our Elections Inclusive, Participatory and Accessible” hosted by the Election Commission.
Rajiv Kumar in his address stated that inclusion must encompass all kinds of communities that are marginalized, including those who are marginalized due to geography, region or economics, ethnicity, language and gender, as well as disability, and many more to ensure that they are heard and can exercise their rights to vote.”Access is required for these communities in order to ensure that the entire process of casting a ballot is simple and comfortable.People with disabilities (PwDs) and older citizens struggle with prejudices based on attitudinal and inaccessibility of accessibility to information, infrastructural barriers , and numerous other problems,” he added.
The CEC encouraged everyone in the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to participate in to continuous self-evaluation as well as improvement of their processes to satisfy the growing expectations of citizens and to be able to deal with the challenges that are emerging during the election process.
The CEC stated that when an innovative technology is developed or the new service is embraced by the EMB accessibility should be an integral part of the design and not added later in the last minute.He offered support to those who want EMBs in creating and enhancing various technological regulatory, legal and administrative structures.
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