The Election Commission has been paying particular attention to North Shillong, the Assembly constituency with historically the worst voter turnout, ahead of the February 27 election.
The state average was 86.65 per cent at the last election in 2018 but turnout in East Khasi Hills was only 83.54 per cent and some Shillong polling booths recorded just 60 per cent or so.
To try and correct this, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Meghalaya and Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) targetted five polling stations per Assembly constituency where turnout was lower than the state average.
The ‘Mission 300′ programme was officially launched yesterday under the tag’ My Vote, My Valentine’. The mission was launched with the lighting of a traditional Khasi torch, the dongmusa, and this was followed by the collective reading of the voter’s pledge.
During the programme, a special ‘First Time Voters’ Award’ and medal was also handed over by the CEO, Frederick Roy Kharkongor, to a newly enrolled 18-year-old voter to encourage and inspire young people, especially those who have just turned 18, to participate and exercise their democratic rights on voting day.
