Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said nearly 100 crore Indians will be eligible to vote in the Lok Sabha elections next year and lauded the role of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in bolstering transparency and efficiency in India’s electoral system.
Addressing the inaugural session of the ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) in New Delhi, he invited the delegates to visit India again next year to witness the “festival of democracy”.
Emphasizing the trust citizens have in India’s parliamentary practices, the Prime Minister noted the substantial voter turnout of 67 per cent during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He underscored the modernization of the country’s electoral process, with EVMs in use for the past 25 years. EVMs, according to PM Modi, have introduced transparency and efficiency, enabling election results to be determined within hours of the commencement of counting.
The EVM has brought transparency and efficiency to the election process he said, adding now election results are known within hours of the start of counting.
However, notably various opposition parties, including the Congress, have raised concerns about the credibility of EVMs. Some, like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), have advocated for a return to the traditional ballot system. In response, the Election Commission has defended EVMs, citing favourable judicial rulings, while the government has maintained that reverting to the ballot system is not an option.
Recalling the monumental scale of the last Lok Sabha elections, where the Bharatiya Janata Party secured victory for the second consecutive term, PM Modi pointed out that it was the world’s most extensive electoral exercise, boasting a registered voter count exceeding the entire population of Europe.
The 2019 elections also saw record participation by women, PM Modi told the delegates.
Highlighting the expanding realm of political participation, the Prime Minister noted the involvement of over 600 political parties in the last general election, with one crore (10 million) government employees engaged in the electoral process for which 10 lakh polling stations were being set up.
The event is being attended by Speakers of Parliaments of G20 members and invitee countries. The Pan-African Parliament will take part in the P20 Summit for the first time after the African Union became a member of G20 at the New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Summit last month.
The thematic sessions during this P20 Summit will focus on four subjects of transformation in people’s lives through public digital platforms, women-led development, accelerating SDGs and sustainable energy transition.
(With PTI inputs)