Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls
Source: PIB
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Overview
- News in Brief
- About Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls
Why in the News?
The Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar, a comprehensive exercise after a two-decade hiatus
News in Brief
- While some political parties express concerns, the Election Commission emphasises transparency and encourages participation.
- Parties have been eliciting loyalty from electoral rolls, valid through the years with incremental corrections, mostly through annual revisions.
- In Bihar, SIR is underway after over two decades. Enumeration, house-to house verification and documentation are discerning parts of the exercise.
- About one lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will be in action besides another one lakh volunteers.
- Countrywide SIR is to follow in phases.
About Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls
- It aims to refine voter lists by including eligible citizens and removing ineligible ones.
- The objective of an intensified revision is to ensure that the names of all eligible citizens are included in the Electoral Roll (ER)
- This will enable them to exercise their franchise; no ineligible voter is included in the electoral rolls.
- Also, to introduce complete transparency in the process of addition or deletion of electors in the electoral rolls.
- The last intensive revision for Bihar was conducted by the Commission in the year 2003
- Reasons such as rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants have necessitated the conduct of an intensive revision to ensure integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls.
Provisions
- The electoral roll is clearly laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution of India.
- Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- Section 23 of the Representation of People Act 1950, the eligibility conditions to enrol as an elector were already being verified by the ERO to his satisfaction.
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