Voting should be compulsory: Moily

Union law and justice minister Veerappa Moily on Sunday expressed the need to strengthen the Election Commission (EC) and said that the government should give a serious thought to feasibility of compulsory voting. The minister also said that from this year, January 25 will be celebrated as the National Voters’ Day to spread awareness about voting. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan endorsed the Union minister’s views.
Dr Moily and Mr Chavan attended the Regional Consultation for Electoral Reforms, an interactive session arranged at the University of Mumbai.
The Union minister said, “Many people express their doubts about the smooth running of our democracy. But despite pros and cons, our democracy provides space and liberty to accommodate new ideas, constructive suggestions and improvement.” However, Dr Moily expressed concerns about low voters turnout in elections. He said that on January 25 every year, the nation will celebrate National Voters’ Day to remind the new and old voters that they are proud citizens of this country and belong to the success story of democracy.
“Nearly 25 to 30 crore people do not vote in our country. We need to engrave on their minds that they must vote,” he said.
The Union minister also spoke about the need for making voting compulsory. “Elections should reflect the voice of the common man. However, when less than 50 per cent of the population from over 700 million exercise their right to vote, shouldn’t voting be made compulsory?” Dr Moily asked.

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