Voting is important for a democracy. Everyone knows that in theory, but there are very few who practice this in their lives, in India, at least. That's why, in a first-of-its-kind initiative the country's Election Commission has found an innovative way to get the people interested in this most important democratic exercise. They have joined hands with the social networking giant Facebook to spearhead a voter registration drive in five Indian states going to polls in 2017. The main aim here is to encourage the youth to come out and vote.
Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook has entered into a collaboration with the Election Commission of India and the office of Chief electoral officers in the state of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur for the very first time in the country to carry out a voter registration drive, said Uttarakhand's Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi.
It seems, since Facebook has a good 155 million users in India, the Election Commission chose the right medium to tap its target audience.
Facebook's 'Register to vote' button is primarily designed to encourage the citizens across the aforementioned five states going to pole next year to understand their dusty and come out exercise their vote. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand who were 18 years of age and above received a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote.
By clicking on Facebook's 'Register Now' button, people were directed to the National Voters' Services Portal which further guided them through the entire voter registration process. "Youth is the future of India and it is very important that they take part in the biggest democratic exercise of elections," said Raturi. She also appealed to people from all walks of life to register themselves as voters through the process.
Not only this, the Office of CEO Uttarakhand has also started with its very own official Facebook page so as to connect with the younger generation and make them understand the importance and power of voting in a democracy. A twitter account with handle @UttarakhandCEO has also been started with the same aim of striking a cord with the younger generation which is more active on social media platforms.
Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook has entered into a collaboration with the Election Commission of India and the office of Chief electoral officers in the state of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur for the very first time in the country to carry out a voter registration drive, said Uttarakhand's Chief Electoral Officer Radha Raturi.
It seems, since Facebook has a good 155 million users in India, the Election Commission chose the right medium to tap its target audience.
Facebook's 'Register to vote' button is primarily designed to encourage the citizens across the aforementioned five states going to pole next year to understand their dusty and come out exercise their vote. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand who were 18 years of age and above received a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote.
By clicking on Facebook's 'Register Now' button, people were directed to the National Voters' Services Portal which further guided them through the entire voter registration process. "Youth is the future of India and it is very important that they take part in the biggest democratic exercise of elections," said Raturi. She also appealed to people from all walks of life to register themselves as voters through the process.
Not only this, the Office of CEO Uttarakhand has also started with its very own official Facebook page so as to connect with the younger generation and make them understand the importance and power of voting in a democracy. A twitter account with handle @UttarakhandCEO has also been started with the same aim of striking a cord with the younger generation which is more active on social media platforms.
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