Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Following directive from the Election Commission of India (ECI), Special Summary Revision (SSR) of photo electoral rolls is now all set to begin in Assam.
As per the schedule released by the Office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Assam, the integrated draft electoral rolls will be published on November 12 this year.
Thereafter, the period from November 12 to December 11 has been fixed for filing claims and objections.
Claims and objections will be disposed by December 28, before the final electoral rolls are published on January 4, 2027.
The CEO office stated that SSR exercise would be carried out with the objective of ensuring accurate, accessible, inclusive and error-free electoral rolls and facilitating a smooth voting experience for all electors.
Electoral registration officers (EROs) shall take necessary action in accordance with the prescribed procedure to identify and remove duplicate entries, entries of deceased electors and electors who have permanently shifted, through Form 7 and other applicable provisions.
All claims and objections received during the continuous updation period shall be disposed of before publication of the draft electoral roll.
Appealing to all electors, recognised political parties and other stakeholders to extend their cooperation during the SSR process, the CEO office stated that the exercise was aimed at strengthening the accuracy and integrity of electoral rolls, ensuring convenient access to polling stations and enabling every eligible elector to exercise their democratic right to vote.
As part of the SSR exercise, rationalisation, rearrangement and reorganisation of polling stations too would be carried out after 100% physical verification of existing polling station locations and the relevant parts of the electoral rolls.
EROs will assess the requirement for creation of new polling stations, ensuring that the number of electors attached to a polling station does not exceed 1,200, except with the prior approval of ECI. Before proposing any new polling station, the sections attached to adjacent polling stations shall be rationalised wherever feasible to ensure equitable distribution of electors among polling stations at the same location.
The jurisdiction of each polling station shall be clearly defined and demarcated to avoid any overlap. Adequate care shall be taken to ensure that electors do not have to travel more than two kilometres to reach their polling stations or cross natural barriers. Polling stations shall preferably be located on the ground floor or at road-entry level to ensure accessibility.
Special attention shall be given to high-rise buildings, group housing societies, residential welfare association (RWA) colonies having common facilitation areas or community halls on the ground floor, and slum-dwelling clusters in urban areas. Extensive surveys shall be conducted to identify suitable locations for polling stations in these areas, in accordance with ECI instruction.
Immediately after assessing the requirement for additional polling stations, EROs will communicate the same to the respective district election officers (DEOs), who will ensure 100% physical verification of all existing and newly proposed polling stations through designated senior officers.
The verification shall assess the condition and suitability of the buildings and compliance with the parameters prescribed by ECI for smooth conduct of elections. The designated officers shall certify the physical verification.
Before finalising proposals for new polling stations, the DEOs shall consult representatives of recognised political parties, following which the consolidated proposals will be forwarded to CEO for obtaining ECI approval.
Any proposal for a change in the location of a polling station shall be submitted to the commission only after 100% physical verification and inspection, along with the latitude and longitude of the proposed location, CEO office stated.
Offices of CEO and DEOs will interact with political parties at regular intervals to update the status of SSR and also to seek feedback.
Also Read: CM Sarma Slams Rahul Gandhi Over ‘Regime Change’ Protests, Inaugurates Assam Bhawan in Bengaluru