Thiruvananthapuram: The draft electoral roll prepared as part of the intensive revision of the voters’ list in the state will be published today. Citizens can submit claims and objections up to January 22.
Separate forms have been prescribed for each type of request. Form 6 is to be used for inclusion of new voters, Form 6A for Non-Resident Indians, Form 7 for deletion of names (due to death, relocation, duplication, etc.), and Form 8 for corrections or change of residence. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will examine the claims and objections and take appropriate decisions.
If a name included in the draft roll is deleted after a hearing, an appeal can be filed before the District Election Officer (DEO) within 15 days from the date of the ERO’s order. If the decision of the DEO is not satisfactory, a second appeal can be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days from the date of the first appellate order. The final electoral roll will be published on February 21.
Meanwhile, political parties have raised serious concerns over the comprehensive electoral roll revision (SIR), alleging that a large number of voters have been removed. According to their claims, around 24 lakh voters have been excluded under five categories — deceased, untraceable, permanently relocated, duplicate voters, and “others”.
While parties do not dispute the removal of duplicate voters, they allege grave errors in identifying deceased and untraceable voters. Questions have also been raised about the lack of clarity regarding the “others” category. Political parties have decided to closely examine the draft roll being published today to gather more details. They claim that many voters marked as “untraceable” have been personally contacted by party representatives.
