Meghalaya SIR flags 6.51 lakh voters for notice, verification hearings

Meghalaya’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has flagged 6,51,644 cases for notice and further verification, with the Election Department saying the affected electors will be given an opportunity to clarify discrepancies and submit supporting documents.

The figure includes 2,22,786 electors whose records could not be mapped to the previous SIR 2005 records and 4,28,858 cases where discrepancies were detected in the mapping process, according to the Chief Electoral Officer’s latest review.

The review was held on August 18 with Deputy Commissioners, District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers to assess the progress of the notice and hearing phase of the SIR.

The discrepancies identified through ECINET include differences between an elector’s name and the corresponding name in the 2005 electoral records, mismatches involving parents’ names, unusual age differences between parents and children, an age gap of less than nine months between siblings linked to the same parent, more than six children linked to the same parent, and an age difference of less than 40 years between an elector and a grandparent.

The Election Department said such cases would be examined individually and that electors would be given an opportunity to explain the discrepancies and produce the prescribed documents. Notices are currently being generated and distributed, with hearings already underway before Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.

The department also held a separate review with recognised national and state political parties on Tuesday, focusing on the appointment of Booth Level Agents, grievance redressal, publication of claims and objections, service of notices and the hearing process.

So far, 1,810 Booth Level Agents have been appointed across Meghalaya. The National People’s Party has appointed 724, followed by the BJP with 401, the VPP with 320, the Congress with 186, the UDP with 121 and the AITC with 58.

The CEO has asked political parties to strengthen their BLA networks and assist electors during the claims, objections and notice phase, including helping voters check their names and understand notices issued by election officials.

The department said lists of claims and objections are also being published on the CEO Meghalaya website. These include applications for inclusion, objections, corrections or replacement, and shifting of electors within or outside a constituency. The lists are intended to allow political parties and other stakeholders to track the progress of applications.

The review also found that 4,091 applications had been received after publication of the Draft Electoral Roll.

Of these, 1,847 were Form 6 applications for inclusion, 144 were Form 7 applications, 384 were Form 8 applications for shifting and 1,716 were other Form 8 applications.

The CEO has directed district election authorities to scrutinise and process the applications in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

Electoral Roll Observers will also visit districts to assess the progress of the SIR, particularly the notice and hearing process, disposal of claims and objections and compliance with prescribed procedures.

For voters, the department has reiterated that being listed for notice does not automatically mean deletion from the electoral roll. According to the advisory issued by the Election Department, no name appearing in the Draft Electoral Roll will be deleted without due process, including issuance of notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

Those whose names are already in the draft roll and whose records have been successfully mapped with SIR 2005 do not need to take further action. Electors who receive a notice for a hearing have been asked to attend on the specified date, produce the required documents and cooperate with election officials during verification.

Those whose names are missing from the Draft Electoral Roll can still apply for inclusion by submitting Form 6, the prescribed declaration and supporting documents during the claims and objections period.

The claims and objections period runs from August 5 to September 4, while the notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will continue until October 3. The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on October 7.

The Election Department has advised voters to check their names in the Draft Electoral Roll and act promptly wherever clarification, correction or inclusion is required.