Informing about the guidelines on the voting system, NEAN president, Toshiba Jamir said that persons above 18 years of age were eligible to vote. Restricting multiple voting by one person, NEAN requested voters to use pens to tick their options either in ‘For,’ ‘Against’ and ‘Not Sure’ in the voting cards, which cost Rs 5. The polls will be conducted till October 28.
Stating that the voting was a voluntary exercise, the organizers, however, requested all citizens to participate in the campaign.
NEAN said that it was neither in support nor against the Act but that through the campaign it wanted the policy makers to get a picture of the opinion of the public on the issue. “This campaign is not meant to pressurize the decision makers in any manner,” NEAN added.
With regard to the public voting, NEAN informed that its volunteers will identify various outlets in all the districts to enable people to exercise their votes. Besides, the volunteers will also initiate door-to-door campaign for the voting.
The dedicatory prayer for the voting campaign was pronounced by Pastor Lotha Baptist Church Dimapur, Yambemo.
On the sidelines of the launching programme, the organizers were asked by media persons as to how it would be determined that no person votes multiple times. It was learnt that no specific mechanism has been put in place to prevent multiple voting by a single person. It was also pointed out by the media persons that charging an amount of Rs 5 per vote would bring down the level of public participation, the result of which might not project the opinion of the majority of the people. The organizers said they would soon bring in a proper system for the voting campaign.
NEAN is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote music, organizes blood donation drives and also involves itself in other social issues.
Source: Morung Express
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