District Collector and District Election Authority Vivek Yadav has said that citizens should remember that using the right to vote is a basic responsibility in a democracy.
Launching a voter awareness rally from his office here on Wednesday, Mr. Yadav said elections to the Guntur Municipal Corporation and seven other municipalities would be held on March 10, and added that all arrangements had been made to ensure fair and smooth elections.
The district administration had readied polling stations, teams to enforce Model Code of Conduct and static surveillance teams.
“We know that the voter participation in municipal elections is not so high and in the elections held in Guntur during 2005, only 58% of voters exercised their franchise. The voter participation is low when compared to general elections, but this time, we urge the voters to come and vote. By not casting a vote, they are losing the right to question the elected bodies. We are conducting voter awareness programmes so that many voters turn up on the polling day and the State Election Commission is also keen on spreading awareness on voting rights,’’ Mr. Yadav said.
Later, the Collector flagged off a rally and walked along with Joint Collector P. Prasanthi and Municipal Commissioner C. Anuradha.
Voter slips
The Collector said that voter slips would be distributed three days before the date of polling and helplines had been set up in all municipalities and corporations. A schedule has been designed to spread awareness on voting rights.
Revenue Divisional Officer, Guntur Bhaskar Reddy, Guntur West Tahsildar T. Mohan Rao and Tahsildar, Guntur East, Srikanth were also present.