Imphal, (DIPR): District Election Office, Imphal East, walked the extra mile to ensure inclusive and accessible electoral process, in pursuance of Election Commission of India’s initiative, where no voter is left behind for the 18th Lok Sabha Elections, 2024.
ECI, for the first time in a Lok Sabha Election, has taken a pathbreaking step towards promoting inclusive and accessible elections by extending Vote-from-Home (VfH) facility through postal ballots to Senior Citizens (AVSC) aged 85 years and above and persons with disabilities (AVPD), with minimum 40 percent benchmark disability marked in electoral rolls at their houses.
In Imphal East, an integral part of the 1-Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency (1-IMPC), 1631 voters including senior citizens and pwds, eligible for VfH facility, voted from the comfort of their home across all 10 Assembly segments.
Form 12D had been previously distributed to eligible electors through BLOs.
The approved list of absentee voters in Imphal East District included 1027 senior citizens, 604 pwds and totalling 1631. voters.
Smt Khumanthem Diana, District Election Officer/DC Imphal East, K Meghachandra, SP Imphal East, alongside other officials alongside flagged off the Home Postal Ballot Voting for absentee voters at DC Office Complex, Porompat on 7th April. The DEO exhorted the eligible voters to stay at home and exercise their franchise to make the ECI initiative a success.
Voters in this category began casting their votes for phase I of polling from 7th April 2024. The schedule for house-to-house visits was divided into two rounds. The first round was scheduled from 7 April to 12 April, 2024, with the second round covering the remaining absentee voters on 15 April, 2024.
The Thirty Polling team, each comprising of two Polling officials, a Videographer, a Micro Observer and half section of armed security personnel, started their journey, 12 days ahead of poll. The district goes to poll on 19th April 2024.
Rigorous training was imparted to the polling teams assigned for the duty at SIRD Hall, DC Office Complex on 5th April 2024. Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) prepared the schedule timing and route chart for visiting the absentee voters. The AROs notified the electors before going for collection and delivery of postal ballot via SMS on their mobile phones and through the concerned BLOs. The complete electoral process was videographed for transparency.
The Home Voting facility has provided an opportunity to several senior citizens and pwds in Imphal East district to exercise their right to vote through postal ballots by minimising their difficulties of travelling to the polling stations.
One 85 plus-year-old from Andro AC who exercised his franchise using the home voting facility expressed his gratitude for the ECI intiative.
“I’am indeed happy and grateful to the Election Commission of India for arranging to cast my vote at the comfort of my own home,” he said.
A pwd voter from Ando AC expressed his happiness for casting his vote despite his locomotor disability. “I’ am extremely thankful to ECI for the arrangement made for us, PWDs and for ensuring our voting right,” He said.
Another PWD voter who is mute from Heingang AC displayed a playcard with the quote “ My Vote is My Voice”. Using sign language, he expressed his pleasure in taking a part in Democracy. “I am happy and grateful to District Election Officer I/E for arranging to cast my vote at home”, he signed.
Such testimonials emphasises the transformative power of the ECI initiative as a tool to facilitate a more inclusive and accessible democracy, where every voters’ choice counts, irrespective of age or physical challenges.
