Sikkim CEO holds meeting with political parties ahead of voter roll revision exercise

Sikkim Chief Electoral Officer Raj Kumar Yadav held a meeting with representatives of various political parties ahead of the commencement of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state from May 30.

Describing the exercise as a “participatory” process, Yadav said booth-level officers (BLOs) would conduct house-to-house visits till June 28 to distribute and collect enumeration forms from voters.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on July 5, while claims and objections can be filed between July 5 and August 4, he said. The disposal of claims and objections will continue till September 2, and the final electoral rolls will be released on September 6.

According to an official statement, the meeting was held on May 18 at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer following directions from the Election Commission of India to conduct the voter roll revision exercise in 16 states and three Union Territories.

“The SIR is a participative exercise involving all stakeholders, including electors, political parties and election officials,” Yadav said.

He stated that the revision exercise was aimed at identifying and removing ineligible voters from the electoral rolls. The last Special Intensive Revision in Sikkim was conducted in 2002, which also serves as proof of voter eligibility, he added.

During the meeting, the CEO briefed political party representatives on the responsibilities of booth-level agents and electors during the distribution and submission of enumeration forms.

Yadav also explained the documents prescribed by the Election Commission for inclusion of voters whose names do not appear in the 2002 electoral rolls.

He further highlighted features of the ECINET app, through which voters can search their electoral details and schedule calls with BLOs assigned to their respective areas.

Sikkim currently has around 4.7 lakh registered voters.