Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer Madhup Vyas has held a meeting with poll officials to discuss strategy to ensure high voter turnout in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the state, an official statement said. The CEO expressed his concern over "lower voter turnout in Lok Sabha polls as compared to state assembly elections" in the past, it said.
Mizoram registered one of the highest voter turnouts in India in the assembly polls, held in November last year, while the polling percentage in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019 was "even lower than the national average of 67 per cent", the statement said.
The state recorded a 63.13 per cent voter turnout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, which was much lower than the over 80 per cent turnout registered in the state assembly elections last year.
Elections to the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribe, will be held on April 19. Various issues related to voter education were discussed during Thursday's meeting, the statement said.
It stressed on the need to focus on youth participation, especially first-time voters, and to undertake awareness campaigns at the micro-level. The departments of school, higher and technical education, sports and youth services will be roped in for the task, it added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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