CEC stresses role of DPROs in strengthening electoral democracy
New Delhi, July 3 (TNT): Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Friday underscored the crucial role of District Public Relations Officers (DPROs) in strengthening electoral democracy through timely dissemination of authentic information and effective countering of misinformation.
Addressing a one-day National Conference for Media and Communication Nodal Officers organised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi, the CEC said election-related communication must be timely, factual and transparent to enhance public confidence in the electoral process.
The conference brought together around 240 District Public Relations Officers (DPROs), Media Nodal Officers and Social Media Nodal Officers from 15 States and Union Territories, including Telangana.
Referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the CEC said the exercise was being undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, to ensure that only eligible Indian citizens are included in the electoral rolls.
Senior Election Commission officials made presentations on election transparency, Form 17C, constitutional provisions under Article 324, media regulation, paid news monitoring, election communication strategies and the challenges posed by social media, artificial intelligence-generated content and deepfakes.
The conference also showcased ECINet, the Election Commission’s integrated digital platform that provides voter registration, correction of electoral details, polling station information, candidate affidavits, election results and other citizen services through a single interface.
Participants were urged to create greater public awareness about the platform to enable voters to access authentic election-related information directly from the Commission.
The Telangana delegation included Chief Electoral Office Additional Secretary N. Shankar, Special Deputy Collector Prasanna Raj, Telangana Media Academy Joint Director U. Venkateswara Rao, Public Relations Officers M. Kiranmayee and A. Vanaja, along with other District Public Relations Officers from the State.
TNT KS
