'EC plans to use Facebook, Twitter for voter education'

KOLKATA: The Election Commission is planning to take the help of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to impart electoral messages to young voters, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said today.

"The Commission is now seriously looking at the social media as the hubs to impart electoral education," Quraishi said delivering the Maulana Azad Memorial Lecture 2011 titled ' Education for Deepening Democracy'.

"Like Maulana Azad, I believe that an educated and aware citizen is the best guarantee for deepening both democracy and development," Quraishi said.

The CEC said he had recently held talks with policy makers of Education and Youth ministries to integrate citizenship and voter education as a part of the curriculum of their various courses.

"We have established the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management ( IIDEM) making voter education a core area of emphasis in it," Quraishi said.

Regretting that many voters in the age group of 18-35 years do not exercise their voting rights for whatever reason, the CEC said the Commission has put voter education and awareness programme on fast track to improve the situation.

In a strategic initiative called YUVA (Youth Unite for Voter Awareness), the Commission has planned to rope in the new and young voters, he said.