The Election Commission of India in an order on Thursday stated that it has decided to start the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country. The EC said that the move is aimed at fulfilling its constitutional duty to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voter lists. The schedule for carrying out this revision in other parts of the country will be announced later.
The announcement has come at a time when there is already a strong opposition to the voter list revision in Bihar. The issue has also created quite a ruckus in the Parliament, where protests have disrupted the monsoon session for four days in a row.
Key points from EC’s order on SIR implementation
- The EC, in its order said that keeping the voter list accurate and clean is very important to ensure “free and fair elections.”
- It order further pointed out the rules for how voter lists are made, or who can be added, and how the process should be conducted are laid out in the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
- The order also said that voter lists should make sure that no one who qualifies as an eligible citizen, is left out. According to Article 326 of the Constitution, every Indian citizen who is 18 years or older on the qualifying date, and who is not disqualified under any law, has the right to be added to the electoral roll.
Duplication of entries in electoral rolls
- The EC also noted that in the past 20 years, there have been many changes to the voter lists due to a large number of additions and deletions. With rapid urbanisation and people frequently moving for jobs, education, and other reasons, it has become common for voters to register at a new address without removing their names from their old location, which has led to duplicate entries in the electoral rolls. Because of this, the Commission believes there is a need for a thorough verification process to check each person before adding them to the list.
- One key rule in Article 326 is that only Indian citizens can be registered as voters. So, the Commission, in the order said that it has a constitutional duty to make sure that only citizens of India are included in the electoral rolls.