Nagaland, Meghalaya officials join national election training amid focus on voter transparency

With crucial groundwork underway for future elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) launched a two-day capacity-building programme today, bringing 379 Booth Level Officer (BLO) Supervisors from across five states and union territories to its New Delhi training facility. Notably, 133 of the participants are from the Northeast — 67 from Nagaland and 66 from Meghalaya.

The 13th batch of the training, hosted at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM), is part of an intensive nationwide initiative. Over 5,000 officials have already been trained in the past three months. This particular cohort also includes officers from Uttar Pradesh (111), Madhya Pradesh (128), and Chandigarh (7).

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who inaugurated the session, emphasised the importance of strict adherence to electoral laws, including the Representation of the People Acts (1950 and 1951) and related rules. He called the legal framework the “most transparent instrument” in a democracy and reiterated that Indian elections are conducted in full accordance with the law.

The CEC also highlighted a critical area of focus: improving awareness of the appeals process related to electoral rolls. He encouraged BLOs to educate voters about their rights to file first and second appeals concerning voter list issues under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950. Interestingly, the states participating in this training — including Meghalaya and Nagaland — reported no appeals filed following the Special Summary Revision (SSR) conducted earlier this year from January 6 to 10.

Participants will receive hands-on training on field-level voter registration processes, form handling, and the use of digital tools in electoral work. The sessions also cover technical demonstrations of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), including mock poll exercises to simulate real-world scenarios.

The ECI’s push for high-quality training aims to strengthen the efficiency and credibility of electoral operations across the country, with growing attention on ensuring inclusion, accuracy, and transparency at the grassroots level, especially in regions like the Northeast.