Lok Sabha elections 2024: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, announced the schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Lok Sabha elections will take place in seven phases. Kumar revealed information about the electoral roll and what it takes the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the elections.
He informed that there are 968 million registered voters in India. This includes:
497 million male voters
471 million female voters
18 million will be first-time voters (between the ages of 18-19)
8.84 million voters are people with disabilities
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1.91 million service electors
8.2 million voters above the age of 85
197.4 million young voters (between the ages of 20-29)
48,000 transgender voters
218,000 centenarians
To conduct the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 1.048 million polling booths will be set up, and 5.5 million electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used.
Additionally, 15 million polling officials and security staff will be deployed with 400,000 vehicles for a seamless voting process.
Candidates with criminal backgrounds must announce their status thrice before the poll date via newspapers/TV, as well as, inform their respective political parties.
Voters are also urged to report any poll violations via the cVigil app, which allows voters to file anonymous complaints directly with the Election Commission.
Watch: Lok Sabha elections 2024 dates, full schedule phase wise
Watch: Lok Sabha elections 2024 dates, full schedule phase wise
Myth vs reality: Fighting misinformation
The Election Commission announced a new section on its portal dedicated to combating misinformation. This will be called "Myth vs Reality", which will present the misinformation or "myth" circulating among the public and the truth of the circumstance, or "reality". Kumar also urged the public to remain aware and not share information that is not verified. He stated that everyone was responsible for limiting misinformation.
He also advised the public to look beyond advertisements or misinformation being spread under an "ad".
Finally, the election commissioner urged political parties to adhere to the rules and guidelines under the MCC and not cross the "red line".
The 2019 Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases between April 11 to May 12. There were 1 million polling booths set up across the country, up from 90,000 in 2014, to enable 912 million people eligible to vote. The voter turnout was over 67 per cent. The last general elections saw the highest women participation in voting so far and recorded the highest voter turnout.