Shillong, September 15: More than 82% of the hearings arising from notices issued during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Meghalaya have been completed, Chief Electoral Officer Dr BDR Tiwari said on Tuesday, while directing district election officials to expedite the remaining hearings and ensure that no elector is denied an opportunity to be heard.
Dr Tiwari held a virtual review meeting with Deputy Commissioners/District Election Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and other election officials to review the progress of SIR 2026. A separate weekly review meeting was also held with representatives of recognised national and State political parties. Of the 21,69,243 electors in the Draft Electoral Roll, 6,51,735 notices have been generated, of which 6,46,397 have been delivered and 5,190 are pending for delivery. A total of 5,36,468 hearings have been conducted, representing 82.31% of the notices generated, while 542 electors have been found ineligible for inclusion in the Final Electoral Roll after scrutiny and the prescribed process. The CEO directed officials to expedite the remaining notice delivery and hearings and provide another opportunity to electors who could not attend on the originally scheduled date.
The CEO informed, “….receipt of a notice does not mean automatic deletion from the Electoral Roll. A notice provides the electors an opportunity to clarify the issue identified during scrutiny and furnish the prescribed supporting documents. No name appearing in the Draft Electoral Roll shall be deleted without following the prescribed procedure and providing due opportunity of hearing.”
The review also covered Claims & Objections, with 9,343 Form 6 applications for inclusion, 1,076 Form 7 applications, 1,211 Form 8 applications for shifting and 5,431 Form 8 applications for correction received across the State, taking the total to 17,061. Of the notices generated, 2,22,786 relate to No Mapping cases and 4,28,949 to mapping discrepancies. Officials were directed to ensure careful scrutiny and provide concerned electors adequate opportunity to furnish the required documents and establish their eligibility. Recognised national and State political parties have appointed 1,814 Booth Level Agents — NPP 736, BJP 393, VPP 320, INC 186, UDP 121 and AITC 58 — and were urged to assist electors, particularly those who have received notices or whose names are not included in the Draft Electoral Roll. With the deadline for filing Claims & Objections ending on September 18, eligible electors can submit Form 6 along with the prescribed Declaration Form and supporting documents.
Disposal of Claims & Objections and completion of hearings will continue up to October 17, while the Final Electoral Roll is scheduled for publication on October 21.
Tiwari reiterated that the objective of the SIR is to prepare an accurate, inclusive and transparent Electoral Roll, ensuring that “No eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll.”
