Imphal, Oct 23: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun preparations for the Manipur Assembly elections, scheduled to be held before the end of the term of the current Assembly in March 2027, election officials said on Friday. The term of the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly is due to expire in March 2027, and the poll authorities have begun taking steps to ensure that the necessary administrative and technical preparations are completed ahead of the elections. A senior election official said that senior officers from the Election Commission of India had earlier this week visited Manipur to review the state’s preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly elections.
During the review meeting, representatives from all 16 districts of Manipur, including the District Election Officers (DEOs) and Superintendents of Police, made presentations to the visiting ECI delegation on the preparations and arrangements being undertaken for the polls.
The discussions also focused on the various administrative and technical aspects of election management ahead of the forthcoming electoral exercise. As part of the preparatory activities, a workshop was organised to demonstrate the First Level Checking (FLC) process for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units.
The workshop was attended by District Election Officers, Deputy District Election Officers, FLC supervisors and other election officials, who were briefed on the procedures involved in checking the machines before their deployment for electoral purposes. The official said that engineers from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), a public sector undertaking under the Central government, demonstrated the administrative and technical safeguards associated with EVMs and VVPATs.
The demonstration was intended to familiarise election officials with the checking procedures and the safeguards followed to ensure that the machines function properly before being used in elections. First Level Checking refers to the process of physically and technically examining EVMs and VVPATs to verify their functioning and certify their readiness for use in elections. The process is an important part of the preparations undertaken by the Election Commission before polling.
“It is to be done before every general election, by-election to Parliament and Assembly, or in any election where EVMs are used. FLCs are conducted in the presence of representatives from recognised National and State political parties,” the official said.
The checking process is carried out by authorised engineers under the supervision of election authorities, with representatives of recognised political parties permitted to remain present to ensure transparency in the procedure. Only machines that successfully pass the prescribed checks are cleared for subsequent stages of election preparation.
The ECI is preparing to conduct Assembly elections in five states — Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa — early next year. Recently, while announcing the annual Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories (UTs), the Election Commission informed the Chief Electoral Officers of these five poll-bound states that Assembly elections in their respective states were due early next year.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls are currently underway in the five states, as part of the exercise to update voter lists ahead of the forthcoming elections. The revision process is intended to ensure that electoral rolls are updated and that eligible voters are included in the lists, while the prescribed procedures are followed for correcting or removing entries wherever necessary.
The Election Commission’s review of poll preparedness and the demonstration of EVM and VVPAT checking procedures form part of the preparatory measures being undertaken ahead of the electoral exercise. The last elections to the 60-member Manipur Legislative Assembly were held in two phases, on February 28 and March 5, 2022.
IANS