Along with the rest of the country, Delhi celebrated 15th National Voters’ Day on Saturday with a number of activities, organised by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to mark the occasion.

Addressing the function, CEO of Delhi R Alice Vaz ,said that the main purpose of the National Voters’ Day celebration is to encourage, facilitate, and maximise voter participation, particularly among first-time voters.

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Stating that voters are the backbone of a democracy, she said, “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 of 15th NVD.”

At the outset, the programme commenced with welcoming dignitaries, followed by the lighting of the auspicious lamp by CEO Delhi. The programme involved transmission of the audiovisual message of the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on the occasion, followed by taking of the National Voters’ Day pledge.

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

Awards for the Best Electoral Practices were given to total 16 achievers at the state and district levels, for their outstanding performance in election management. Three DEOs namely Kinni Singh, Mekala Chaitanya Prasad and Amol Srivastava, were awarded for Election Management and Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation, Election Management, IT initiatives, Election Management and innovative measures.

Two ERO/AERO were awarded in the Best Performing ERO/AERO Officer Category. Five BLOs were also awarded in Best Performing BLO Category. In addition to this, Special Category Award was given to six officers/officials of CEO (HQ).

Since 2011, the 25th of January has been commemorated as National Voters’ Day across the country to celebrate the foundation day of the Election Commission of India. 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.