"Next year, we will hold two types of elections, namely election for parliament and presidential election," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated in a press briefing in New Delhi.
India, with a population of about 1.4 billion people, will hold general elections for some 945 million voters.
Of the 945 million voters, about 20.5 million people are voters aged 80 years and over and about 322 thousand are voters aged 100 years and over, based on ECI data.
The ECI also stated that there are around 8.5 million first-time voters in the age bracket of 18-19 years and around 8.3 million voters, who were persons with disabilities.
ECI Chair Rajiv Kumar highlighted that the Indian election commission is keen to accomplish several targets during next year's elections, namely an election that is fair and transparent, leaves no voter behind, inclusive, technology-based, and accessible, with full presence of political parties and media.
"Regarding inclusivity, we are very concerned about seeking the participation of women, persons with disabilities, and young voters in next year's elections," he stated.
Meanwhile, regarding the implementation of technology-based elections, according to the Chair of the ECI, elections in India next year will also be held using electronic voting machines (EVM).
"The use of this machine is an innovation that we are proud of," Kumar stated.
However, he also admitted to several challenges that must be faced in holding elections next year, one of which is the challenge of reaching voters in remote areas throughout the country.
According to Kumar, another challenge is anticipating the possibility of electoral fraud. Hence, to this end, he stressed the importance of the integrity of election organizers.
On the challenges of negative narratives, black campaigns, deepfakes, and fake news spreading through social media, ECI stated that it will work hard to monitor and control narratives on social media, for instance, by handling fake news, without having to intervene in the campaign section or the efforts made by campaigners and political parties.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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