Facebook, EC roll out National Voters' Day pledge

To encourage young voters in the country, social media giant Facebook and the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday rolled out the National Voters' Day pledge feature on the platform that will send a reminder to users aged 18 years and above to take the pledge on Thursday.

National Voters' Day is marked on January 25.

"On the 8th National Voters' Day, the EC is happy to join hands with Facebook for one of the largest voters' pledges. Through the 'pledge' let us renew our commitment to the cause of free, fair, peaceful and participative elections," Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat said in a statement.

By clicking on "Take the Pledge" button, users will be directed to the EC's Facebook post which will have the National Voters' Day pledge.

"People use Facebook to learn, talk about and get involved with the issues that matter to them. We want to make it easier for people, especially young people, to participate and have a voice in the electoral process -- on Election Day," Nitin Saluja, Politics and Government Outreach Manager for India, South and Central Asia, Facebook said.

Earlier, during the state elections of 2016 and 2017, the social media giant had introduced the voter registration reminder in partnership with the EC and its Chief Electoral Officers.

The company and the EC also partnered to register first-time voters wherein users who turn 18 received a News Feed reminder wishing them a happy birthday and register to vote on the EC website.

--IANS

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