SHILLONG : The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Meghalaya is nearing completion, with the house-to-house distribution and digitisation of Enumeration Forms set to conclude on July 29, Chief Electoral Officer Dr BDR Tiwari said on Tuesday.
As of July 28, a total of 23,40,764 Enumeration Forms had been distributed out of the state’s total electorate of 23,49,645, achieving 99.62% coverage.
Meanwhile, 22,78,071 forms have been digitised, covering 96.95% of the total electorate.
Dr Tiwari held a meeting with representatives of recognised national and state political parties to review the progress of the SIR exercise and discuss the remaining activities ahead of the publication of the Draft Electoral Roll.
During the meeting, the Chief Electoral Officer provided updates on the distribution and digitisation of Enumeration Forms, as well as the verification of ASSD cases.
He urged political parties to continue extending their cooperation to ensure 100% coverage before the house-to-house phase concludes on July 29.
Dr Tiwari also appreciated the constructive suggestions provided by political parties and acknowledged the contribution of more than 1,600 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties to assist voters and promote transparency during the revision process.
“The continued cooperation between the election machinery and political parties has significantly contributed to the successful implementation of SIR across the state,” Dr Tiwari said.
Meghalaya Gets 86 New Polling Stations
As part of the monitoring process, the CEO has been conducting regular review meetings and weekly video conferences with District Election Officers (DEOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) to address field-level issues and ensure that the exercise is completed within the timelines prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The ECI has also approved the rationalisation of polling stations in Meghalaya, resulting in the addition of 86 new polling stations across the state.
With the latest addition, the total number of polling stations in Meghalaya has increased from 3,551 to 3,637.
Dr Tiwari expressed appreciation to the Election Commission of India, DEOs, EROs, AEROs, Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Booth Level Agents (BLAs), technical teams, political parties, Dorbar Shnongs, Nokmas, the media and civil society organisations for their support in successfully carrying out the house-to-house phase of the SIR exercise.
“So far, we have not received any complaint and whatever issues come, we have already tried to address them,” Dr Tiwari said.
The completion of the SIR exercise will be followed by the next stages of the electoral roll revision process, leading to the publication of the Draft Electoral Roll as per the ECI schedule.