International Conference on Voter Registration & Voter Registers

Most countries on the globe, be it in the immediate neighbourhood; in the extended neighbourhood; or elsewhere which are democracy have been struggling on one or the other count to strengthen democratic processes and keep the sanctity of electoral democracy intact. Democracy is the only form of government which provides maximum of individual freedom, for which the mankind entered into state, and continues to be part of it.

However, consolidating electoral democracy has never been without challenges. Consolidation of electoral democracies largely depend upon: the way politics has evolved or been evolving in any particular country; the way political system has been responding to the changing dynamics of social, political, cultural, and economic modernization in the country; the way voters are made increasingly responsible while exercising their right to franchise; and the way voters are registered on the electoral rolls of their country. There could be umpteen numbers of factors responsible for consolidation of democracy in any polity. Consolidation of democracy means that the democracy is becoming increasingly inclusive, sustainable, resilient and future oriented.

‘Electoral Roll’ (Voter Register) is the list in which eligible voters of the country are registered. It is necessary that every eligible voter must get himself/herself registered on the electoral roll; as well as exercise their franchise diligently, has emerged as one of the strongest instrumentalities of consolidation of electoral democracies, and way to make it increasingly inclusive and sustainable in future.

It is in this context that brainstorming is needed regarding “Voter Registration and Voter Registers”, i.e., preparation of electoral rolls to make it increasingly inclusive and ensure that the enrolled voters are exercising their right to franchise. ‘Electoral Rolls’ is thus, one of the major instruments of strengthening democracies and India being the mother of all democracies in the world needs to be extremely updated on the same. India is the largest democracy on planet earth, hence, preparation of electoral rolls and its periodical cleaning and updation are herculean task demanding gigantic task-oriented interventions by relevant institutions. This alone is in great fitness of democracy and strengthening of democratic processes.

Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand proposes to organize a “Two-Days International Conference” on the theme “Voter Registration and Voter Registers” in collaboration with Department of Political Science and Public Administration (DPSPA) and Department of International Relations (DIR) at the Central University of Jharkhand, along with following academic institutions as Knowledge Partners.

Indian Institute of
Management Ranchi

National University of Study and
Research in Law, Ranchi

St. Xavier's College, Ranchi