ITANAGAR, 16 Sep: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain on Tuesday emphasised the crucial role of political parties in ensuring transparency, inclusivity, and accuracy during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
Addressing a coordination meeting held with representatives of various political parties here, the CEO urged proactive engagement to minimise errors in the final electoral roll, and outlined the key responsibilities expected from them throughout the process.
The meeting, a part of the routine engagement initiated by the CEO’s office, was attended by representatives of political parties, alongside Joint Chief Electoral Officer Liken Koyu and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Shania Kayem Mize, an official statement said.
The CEO highlighted that political parties must appoint booth-level agents (BLAs) at every polling station by 30 September, it said.
These agents are expected to work closely with booth-level officers to verify voter details, assist citizens in filing claims for inclusion or objections, and submit up to 50 enumeration forms per day before the draft publication of the electoral roll.
Lists of appointed BLAs are to be submitted to the respective district election officers with copies to the CEO, Sain said.
Detailed guidance on the SIR process was provided during the meeting, including instructions for district representatives to actively participate in meetings with DEOs and electoral registration officers, explanations of the enumeration forms, categories of electors under the Citizenship Act, and the required supporting documents.
The CEO also announced that the final electoral roll from the last SIR (as of 1 January, 2006) has been uploaded to the CEO Arunachal Pradesh website for citizens’ verification, while DEOs continue tabletop exercises with BLOs at the district level.
A state-level training programme for political parties and a public awareness campaign on the SIR will be conducted in due course, he added.
Queries from party representatives regarding demographically similar entries, photo-similar entries, automatic deletions, and preferred enrollment options were clarified.
On the issue of voter identification documents, all participants agreed that the existing 11 documents issued by the Election Commission of India are sufficient.
The CEO further outlined plans to cover shadow areas through base camps where BLO supervisors, BLOs, EROs, and IT teams will facilitate uploading of completed enumeration forms.
The CEO also referenced the guiding legal provisions, including Article 324(1) granting the Election Commission supervisory powers, Rule 25(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Article 326 on voter eligibility, and Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines citizenship for persons born after 26 January, 1950. (PTI)
