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Hong Kong
CNN
—
India is set to vote in the largest general election in world history, setting the stage for a massive exercise in democracy with nearly a billion eligible people heading to the polls in just over six weeks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running for an unusual third term in power against a coalition of opposition parties seeking to oust him.
Here's a look at how the world's most populous country votes in the world's largest democracy.
It is home to more than 1.4 billion people, and approximately 969 million people are eligible to vote in the next election. This is more than the populations of North America and the European Union combined.
This means around 12% of the world's population will vote, motivated by issues ranging from unemployment and welfare benefits to infrastructure and preserving democracy. According to the Election Commission, the number of women registered to vote has increased by 40 million since the last election in 2019, and more than 20 million voters between the ages of 18 and 29 have joined the electorate.
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Indians will vote for 543 of the 545-seat lower house of parliament, with the remaining two seats to be nominated by the president.
The party that wins a majority appoints one of its winning candidates as prime minister and forms a ruling government.
Voting begins on Friday, April 19th and will continue until June 1st, with results announced on June 4th.
Some states have only one day to vote, but in the country's most populous northern state, Uttar Pradesh, and the eastern states of Bihar and West Bengal, with a combined population estimated at 475 million. Voting will take place over 7 days.
Here's how and when elections will be held:
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From the high peaks of the Himalayas to the remote forests of central India, more than 1 million polling stations across the country will vote electronically, with the number of polling stations increasing by 1.2% from the previous election in 2019.
The operation will require around 15 million poll workers and security personnel during the election period, some of whom will travel to Indian citizens by road, boat, camel, train and helicopter. .
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