Meghalaya SIR flags 6.51 lakh electors for further scrutiny in notice-hearing phase

In Meghalaya, 6,51,644 electors have been identified for further scrutiny during the Notice and Hearing phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) B.D.R. Tiwari said on Tuesday.

The CEO’s office said the total includes 2,22,786 electors placed under the “No Mapping” category. It also includes 4,28,858 electors where discrepancies were found in mapping with earlier SIR records. The identification was based on checks carried out through ECINET.

What kinds of mapping issues were found

Officials listed several types of discrepancies that were flagged. These include mismatches between an elector’s name and the name in earlier SIR records. There were also differences in parents’ names and unusual age differences between an elector and parents. In some cases, age gaps between siblings linked to the same parent were noted. Another category included cases where more than six children were linked to the same parent. Officials also cited unusual age differences between electors and grandparents.

The CEO directed Election Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) to closely examine such cases. He said notices should be generated, printed and served on time, and hearing schedules should be prepared in a systematic way. District authorities were also asked to update monitoring sheets to track notice service and hearings.

Draft roll timeline and applications

The Draft Electoral Roll for all 60 Assembly constituencies in Meghalaya was published on August 5. The period for filing Claims and Objections will continue until September 4. The Notice and Hearing process, along with disposal of Claims and Objections, is scheduled to run until October 3. The Final Electoral Roll is set to be published on October 7.

After the draft publication, authorities received 2,449 applications. This includes 1,121 applications in Form 6, eight in Form 7, 253 Form 8 applications for shifting, and 1,067 other Form 8 applications. The CEO also said no entry or name in the Draft Electoral Roll should be deleted without due process. For eligible inclusion, electors who could not submit filled-in Enumeration Forms during the enumeration phase can seek inclusion by submitting Form 6 with the prescribed Declaration Form during the Claims and Objections period.

In a separate meeting, the CEO briefed representatives of recognised national and state political parties on the status of the Draft Electoral Roll and the steps under Notice and Hearing. He urged parties to keep working through Booth Level Agents (BLAs) so eligible electors can verify their details and file claims or objections within the set time window.