Guwahati: More than 6.51 lakh voter records have been marked for verification or notice during Meghalaya’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
Hearings in 14 Assembly constituencies of East Khasi Hills have meanwhile been suspended temporarily because of the law and order situation.
The figures were presented during a review chaired by Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer on August 25, attended by district election officials and other election authorities.
Among the 6,51,644 cases marked for notice or verification, 2,22,786 electors have been classified under “No Mapping” against the 2005 electoral records. The remaining cases were flagged by the ECINET system for various discrepancies.
These include differences in an elector’s name or their parents’ names compared with the 2005 records.
The system has also detected unusual age gaps between parents and children, sibling records with less than nine months between births, more than six children connected to one parent, and unusually small age differences between electors and their grandparents.
The authorities have issued 6,43,439 notices so far, with 4,78,217 already delivered. The remaining 1,65,222 notices are yet to reach the concerned voters.
District officials have been asked to speed up delivery while ensuring that voters have enough time to attend hearings and produce supporting documents.
Hearings are underway in Meghalaya, with 62,343 completed so far. This accounts for 9.69 per cent of the cases marked for notice and hearing.
The election office has also clarified that a voter’s name cannot be removed from the Draft Electoral Roll without following due procedure.
Those who receive notices must be given an opportunity to appear before the authorities, explain any discrepancies and submit relevant documents before a decision is made.
The review found that some polling stations had particularly high numbers of voters without corresponding entries in the 2005 records. District election officials have been directed to examine booth-level enumeration and determine the reasons behind the figures.
Hearings in 14 East Khasi Hills constituencies have been temporarily cancelled following an order by the District Magistrate.
The decision covers hearings conducted by Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and was taken because of the prevailing law and order situation.
The temporary cancellation does not include the 26-Shella, 27-Pynursla and 28-Sohra constituencies.
Voters affected by the cancellation have been advised to await new hearing dates from the concerned election authorities. They will be allowed to appear and provide the required documents when the hearings resume.
Following publication of the Draft Electoral Roll, the election office has received 5,848 applications.
Of these, 2,840 were filed through Form 6 for inclusion, 255 through Form 7 for objections or deletion, and 503 through Form 8 for shifting. Another 2,250 applications sought corrections.
Eligible voters who do not find their names in the Draft Electoral Roll can apply for inclusion through Form 6 during the claims and objections period. They must submit the prescribed declaration along with the required supporting documents.
The claims and objections period runs from August 5 to September 4. The notice process and disposal of claims and objections will continue until October 3, with the Final Electoral Roll scheduled to be published on October 7.
The election office has also received 2,729 requests through the “Book a Call with BLO” facility. Officials have responded to 2,502 requests, while 78 remain pending. Of the pending cases, 12 have been awaiting a response for less than 48 hours and 66 for more than 48 hours.
The Chief Electoral Officer has directed district officials to monitor requests that remain pending beyond 48 hours.
Political parties and Booth Level Agents have also been asked to help voters verify their details in the Draft Electoral Roll, respond to notices, attend hearings and submit claims or objections when required.