Shillong, May 15: Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer Dr. BDR Tiwari on Friday said the state is fully prepared to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll under the third phase announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Speaking after chairing a meeting with representatives of political parties, Dr. Tiwari said Meghalaya is “fully geared up” to carry out the revision process according to the schedule laid down by the ECI. He informed that Meghalaya, along with Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi, has been included in the third phase of the SIR exercise. The qualifying date for the revision has been fixed as October 1, 2026.
According to Dr. Tiwari, preparations for training and printing will take place from June 20 to June 29, while Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct house-to-house visits from June 30 to July 29. Rationalisation of polling stations will also be completed by July 29. “The draft electoral rolls will be published on August 5. Claims and objections can be filed between August 5 and September 4, while disposal of claims and notices will continue till October 3. The final electoral roll will be published on October 7,” he said.
Dr. Tiwari stated that political parties have already been briefed on the procedures and schedules related to the revision process. He said concerns and queries raised during the first round of discussions had also been addressed. He further appealed to political parties to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist in the process. “We are expecting a positive response from political parties because BLAs are important stakeholders at the grassroots level and help maintain transparency along with the BLOs,” he said.
The CEO assured that the entire revision exercise would be conducted in a transparent, free and fair manner to ensure a healthy and error-free electoral roll. Explaining the documentation process, Dr. Tiwari said voters have been divided into four categories. Electors whose names already appeared in the 2005 electoral roll would only need to submit the relevant portion of that roll along with the enumeration form. For voters born before July 1, 1987 whose names are not found in the 2005 list, self-documents approved by the ECI would be required. Those born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004, whose parents’ names are not in the voters’ list, would need to submit their own documents along with documents of either parent. Similarly, voters born after December 2004 whose parents’ names are absent from the electoral roll would need to submit self-documents along with documents of both parents.
Dr. Tiwari also informed that the mapping exercise comparing the 2005 electoral roll with the updated voter list is progressing steadily. “More than 68 percent of the mapping exercise has already been completed in the state. Around 16.14 lakh voters out of 23.44 lakh have already been mapped,” he said.
Clarifying concerns over documents, he said birth certificates are not the only acceptable proof and other documents, including ration cards, may also be submitted. “If voters are already mapped, there should not be any major problem regarding documentation in the state,” he added.
