The Election Commission of India on Saturday provided a detailed explanation of the process involved in preparing electoral rolls, emphasizing the transparency and inclusivity of the system.
In a press note issued today, the ECI said that the preparation of electoral rolls is a multi-layered, decentralized process that involves various stakeholders, including political parties and citizens.
Claiming that political parties are involved at each stage of the preparation of electoral rolls, ensuring that they have a say in the process and can raise any concerns or objections, the poll panel pointed out that the electors and political parties are given adequate time and opportunity to rectify errors in the electoral rolls, with a full one-month period available for filing claims and objections.
The ECI also emphasized that utmost transparency is the hallmark of electoral roll preparation, with digital and physical copies of the rolls shared with all recognized political parties and published on the ECI website.
A two-tiered appeals process is available for electors and political parties to raise concerns or objections, with the first appeal to the District Magistrate and the second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer of every state/UT.
Asserting that some political parties and individuals have recently raised issues about errors in electoral rolls, including those prepared in the past, the EC clarified that the appropriate time to raise such issues would have been during the claims and objections period of that phase, and that it welcomes scrutiny of electoral rolls by political parties and electors to help remove errors and purify the rolls.
By involving political parties and citizens at every stage, the ECI aims to ensure that the electoral rolls are accurate and reliable, and that the democratic process is strengthened.