ECI charts out bold steps towards strengthening election processes during past one month

New Delhi: In under a month of the assumption of charge as the 26th Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) of India, ECI led by Shri Gyanesh Kumar along with
Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi has
put the entire election machinery right up to the BLO level on a path firmly
on course for promoting participation of all electors and ensuring a pleasant
experience for them at the polling stations. Political parties, being key
stakeholders, are also being involved at the grassroot level.
The Commission reaffirms that the nearly 100 crore electors always
stand as the pillar of democracy. Technical consultations between UIDAI and
experts of ECI are to begin soon. Though an elector can only vote in the
assigned polling booth and nowhere else, the Commission has resolved to
remove duplicates countrywide in EPIC numbers and end a decades-long
issue within 3 months. Regular updation of the voter list shall be strengthened
in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities. In the
Commission’s interactions with political parties, it was clarified that any
inclusion or deletion to the draft elector list is governed by the process of
appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections,
available to all political parties in the Representation of People act, 1950. In
the absence of such appeals, the list as prepared by the ERO prevails. It may
be recalled that the ECI had on 7th March, 2025 clarified that merely 89 first
appeals and just the sole second appeal was filed after the completion of the
Special Summary Revision (SSR) exercise as of 6th-10th of January 2025.
Ensuring 100% enrolment of all eligible citizens, ensuring ease of voting
and a pleasant voting experience are key objectives of ECI. Steps will be taken
to ensure that no polling station has more than 1,200 electors and they will
be within 2 Kms of the electors. Even in the remotest rural polling station,
basic facilities (AMF) will be ensured. To tackle urban apathy and encourage
more participation, clusters of high-rise buildings and colonies will also have
polling stations within their premises.
In a major step towards comprehensive and continuous capacity
building of nearly 1 crore election personnel, a two-day conference of CEOs of
all States/UTs at IIIDEM was held in New Delhi on the 4th and 5th of March
in which, in a first, DEOs and EROs of each of the State/UTs participated.
The conference provided a thrust to energise the entire election machinery
with a clear mapping of 28 stakeholders along with their responsibilities as
per the framework set by the constitution, electoral laws and guidelines issued
by ECI. Electoral handbooks and manuals for instructions will be harmonised
with the most recent changes. Digital training kits in multiple Indian
languages will be prepared for easy absorption and effective training of
frontline functionaries. Animated videos and integrated dashboard will
provide a digital push to training. A training module is being devised to train
BLOs in days to come.
To ensure full participation of political parties in all aspects of the
election processes, CEC Gyanesh Kumar during the CEO conference on 4th
March had directed that regular all-party meetings and interactions be held
by all the 36 CEOs, 788 DEOs, 4123 EROs. Such meetings across the country
will help resolve any outstanding and emergent issues raised by the political
parties at the grassroot level itself. This process will be completed pan-India
by the 31st of March, 2025. The offer of the Commission to train political
party representatives and their appointed BLAs on the due processes as per
electoral laws including claims and objections to the voter list has been
welcomed by political parties. The ECI has also invited suggestions from all
political parties on any and all matters concerning the conduct of elections
and they can send these by the 30th of April, 2025. The parties have also been
extended an invitation to meet the Commission in Delhi at a mutually
convenient time.
These bold and far-reaching initiatives span the entire gamut of
elections and encompass all the key stakeholders in a participatory manner.