Election Commission Extends SIR Dates in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya
Yesterday, the full bench of the Election Commission of India met and announced an extension for SIR dates in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya.
The Election Commission of India has extended the dates for the Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya. This revision is a routine but critical exercise to update voter lists by adding new eligible voters, correcting entries, and removing names of deceased or shifted electors before elections. The extension provides additional time for citizens in these two states to file claims and objections, ensuring the rolls are as accurate as possible ahead of upcoming electoral cycles.
A full bench of the Election Commission of India convened on Wednesday for the second time in four days and decided to push back the publication of final electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya, the two states currently undergoing a special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists. The final voters’ list for Andhra Pradesh will now be published on October 16 instead of October 3, while Meghalaya’s roll will be finalised on October 26 rather than October 7, according to details released after the meeting (The Hindu).
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi attended the session, which also reviewed the implementation of corrective measures announced on September 26. Those measures followed reported dissent notes from Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi regarding the SIR process. Among the steps then announced, the Commission halted physical hearings for voters flagged under unmapped or logical discrepancy categories and restricted a declaration attached to Form 6 — used for new voter registration — so that it applies only in states where the SIR is actively underway. That declaration was de-linked from non-SIR states on Tuesday evening (The Hindu).
The claims and objections period in Andhra Pradesh has been extended until October 10, giving citizens additional time to challenge entries. The Commission also confirmed that a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT, will review the ECINet portal to address concerns about its centralisation in handling voter rolls (The Hindu).
Separately, the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi reported that block-level officers have begun house-to-house visits to collect documents in cases where notices were issued. The PIB confirmed the extensions for both states without specifying the new dates (PIB). It remains unclear whether further revisions to the timeline will be needed before the final rolls are published.
PIB·The Hindu