Meghalaya braces for nationwide electoral roll overhaul as 9.7 lakh voters to face verification

The Election Commission of India is preparing to launch a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country, requiring millions of voters enrolled before 2005 to provide fresh documentation proving their citizenship credentials.

Chief Electoral Officer BDR Tiwari announced on October 7 that Meghalaya will see approximately 9.7 lakh electors—those registered during the last intensive revision in 2005—undergo a stringent verification process. These voters will need to submit documents proving they or their parents were citizens before July 1987 or provide other prescribed identity proofs.

The state's electoral landscape has transformed dramatically over two decades. While the 2005 electoral roll listed 13.35 lakh voters, current registrations stand at 23.06 lakh—a jump of nearly 73 per cent. The gender composition has also shifted, with female voters now outnumbering males at 11.69 lakh against 11.37 lakh. Six voters have been registered under the third gender category.

"The Election Commission of India had organised a one-day Conference of Chief Electoral Officers of all States on the 10th September, 2025 at IIIDEM, Dwarka, Delhi to prepare on the upcoming program," Dr Tiwari said during a media briefing.

The verification drive, recently piloted in Bihar, will require affected voters to furnish documents such as government-issued identity cards from before 1987, birth certificates, passports, educational certificates, or caste certificates. Following a Supreme Court order dated September 8, 2025, Aadhaar cards have been added as the 12th acceptable document, though they will serve only as proof of identity, not citizenship.

The Election Commission has also approved a major restructuring of polling stations across Meghalaya. The state will add 64 new polling stations, bringing the total to 3,615. This includes 76 new stations created primarily to reduce voter load at 27 overcrowded booths handling more than 1,200 electors each, while 12 stations will be merged after consolidating separate male and female polling booths.

West Garo Hills will see the largest expansion with 23 new polling stations, followed by East Khasi Hills with 21. The changes also account for difficult terrain and accessibility issues in hilly regions.

To manage the expanded electoral infrastructure, the Election Commission has sanctioned 35 additional Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, including five replacements, raising the total to 126 across the state's 60 assembly constituencies.

Voters registered in 2005 can verify their details on the CEO Meghalaya website at ceomeghalaya.nic.in, which provides the complete electoral roll from that period in PDF format along with an individual search facility.

The upcoming revision marks the most comprehensive electoral exercise in the state since 2005, when the qualifying date was January 1, 2005, and the final roll was published on April 15 that year.