What is SVEEP (Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation)?

India is a democratic country that houses a humongous population of over 139 crores of people. However, the populace cannot choose wisely, participate, or prevent malpractice if they are not aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Keeping that in mind, the Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) was launched. Let’s take an in-depth look at this through the following sections.

The Election Commission of India’s leading programme SVEEP or Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation is made to increase voter literacy and expand voter awareness.

Let’s look at its objectives, structure, procedures and activities to understand how it functions.

Here follows the objectives of SVEEP:

• SVEEP's primary objective is to educate as many people as possible about the election. The understanding of the necessity of voting and the correct ways to cast a vote is crucial to form a participative democracy. In that way, it can be a democracy where all qualified voter’s make informed decisions during an election.
• Their goal for the campaigns also has a long-term view in front of them. They want to bring equality through awareness and knowledge.
• SVEEP tries to simplify the complex process of an Indian election for the common people. They persuade them to take action that is necessary for a better future for the country.

From the initial days, they have been making efforts to make information about the electoral process available to every commoner in India. One can see its success in the massive increase in numbers of voter registration till its inception.

To work like that an organisation needs a methodical structure that has manoeuvrability and a base of strength. Let's look at SVEEP's structure to get a better understanding:

• National Level: The SVEEP is a part of the Indian Election Commission and has a frame of work or outline. This outline can interfere to make sure that all the necessary procedures are taking place as they should be. It also helps in the education process about the republic.
• State Level: The respective State’s CEO office is responsible for appointing one of their eligible and reliable officers to take over the programme. They form a fundamental group of people who work as volunteers. It includes participants of Civil Society groups, youth groups, representatives from universities etc.
• Booth Level: The Election Commission selects booth-level officers. The officers stay in charge of one or two polling stations and hold the responsibility of the electoral roll.
• District Level: At a district level, the collector of a district is responsible for implementing the SVEEP programme. The Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad or the Chief Development Officer supervises all the district-level SVEEP committees.

To understand how the SVEEP programme by the election commission functions by taking a look at its procedures:

• Preparation: It involves employing Nodal Offices at the state and district levels, forming SVEEP core committees, gap analysis for specific areas, training the recruited officials, studying registration and gender gap, studying causes of cut-off related to the youth, and studies related to various groups that have low involvement in elections.
• Planning: It involves planning for National, State and District level plans depending on branches and openings, content planning and devising for creative, conscripting the assessment, monitoring and response process, resource distribution, arranging a datebook of events etc.
• Partnership and Collaboration: They make partnerships and collaborate with certain institutions and organisations to spread awareness. They work with youth administrations, universities of explicit states, Public Sector Units, scholastic associations, commercial houses, state and national level influential and prominent individuals etc.
• Implementation: SVEEP implements their work by interfering and engaging in the underdeveloped and scarcely involved regions. It interferes with such target groups, tries to resolve gender issues, correct youth disengagement, and tries to understand and solve urban lethargy.

Now, let's look at their activities that help to increase the understanding of elections among people.

SVEEP or Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation involves educating the electors people responsible for providing information to the general public about various aspects of election. Those aspects include registration procedure of enrolling names in Electoral roll, removing names of deceased and shifted individuals, and correcting people's existing details.

Furthermore, SVEEP also aims to educate the public about several offline and online facilities. From these facilities they can gain knowledge related to voting. The information includes how to prevent corrupt practices, how to cast votes etc.

Let’s look at SVEEP activities on the following list:

• SVEEP involves publishing in newspapers. These are Public Notices that SVEEP makes to spread awareness amongst people about various aspects related to elections. For example, it talks about Special Summary Revision (SSR), special campaign dates, release of final publication roll, commencement of SSR, publication of draft roll etc.
• Outdoor media campaigns are also a part of SVEEP's activities. They run the campaigns through wrapping of a cluster in state buses, metro duct panels, bus queue shelters, digital screens at post offices, etc. Generally, they use messages and creative writing for those.
• SVEEP also uses radio as a medium to spread awareness by airing radio jingles. They use radio channels and generally target audiences who are voting for the first time, who are senior citizens, members of the third gender, PWDs, women in general and housewives.
• The awareness campaign also involves publication of coloured advertisements in newspapers. They advertise on numerous occasions like Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections, Special Summary Revisions, Election Commission’s Special Drives etc.
• It also involves organising on-air programmes with Akashwani/AIR, where several senior officers, election officers, SDMs, and DEOs of various districts attend. They also keep the facility open for the general public to call and ask relevant questions.
• SVEEP uses government websites to educate and spread awareness as the website holds a significant number of visitors.
• The campaign also uses SVEEP messages on digital screens that State buses all over have installed.
• They set up canopies and display banners at Metro Stations.
• SVEEP uses polling station locations for election-related awareness getting in touch with the voters directly.
• The campaigns include displaying awareness banners in all Safal booths and Mother Dairy stalls.
• It also involves elaborate performances like Nukkad Nataks that they organise near district offices.
• The awareness programme involves distribution of pamphlets among people through newspaper vendors and they conduct munadi in auto rickshaws.
• SVEEP also comes down to individual level by sending messages that contain voter awareness information through Whatsapp.
• This campaign published material about voter awareness of public utility bills such as postpaid mobile bills, electricity bills, water bills etc.
• SVEEP involves sending information on various election-related topics through general SMS. They get help from the Department of Telecommunication in this regard.
• To spread awareness SVEEP is not afraid to extensively use all the social media outlets and reach the highest number of people they can. They use all outlets from Facebook to Instagram.

This article provides a comprehensive discussion on what Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) is, how it functions, and more. From it, one can get a clear idea about what SVEEP does which in turn can make one interested in participating in the process of development of the country.