ECI Allows Form Submissions Beyond Deadline Until Bihar Assembly Poll Nominations Close

Swift Summary

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) confirmed applications for inclusion and exclusion in electoral rolls will be accepted until the last date of nominations for the Bihar Assembly polls, tho these will not be part of the final list released on September 30 but addressed separately.
• as per Para 12(a)(ii) of the June 24 special intensive revision (SIR) order, revisions can continue beyond deadlines, even to nomination closure.
• supreme Court directed ECI to accept Aadhaar or any other specified documents for voter list inclusions.
• ECI reported nearly:

– 37,000 applications for re-inclusion,
– 2,17,000 seeking exclusions,
– 16.56 lakh new registrations from citizens turning 18 years old.

• Draft electoral rolls published on August 1 include around 7.24 crore electors, which is 65 lakh fewer voters compared to JulyS data.
• Majority claims filed by political parties were for exclusions rather than inclusions; incomplete submissions lead to over 3 lakh notices being issued as last week.
• Under SIR guidelines:

– Electoral registration Officers (EROs) are empowered to scrutinize claims actively and issue notices with “speaking orders” explaining exclusions based on clear reasoning.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The ECI’s flexibility in accepting voter roll revisions until nomination deadlines signals its intent to ensure accurate depiction in Bihar’s upcoming Assembly elections while adhering strictly to procedural norms like issuing speaking orders by EROs.With significant numbers reflecting re-inclusion requests and mass exclusions exceeding new voter registrations by political calls, this could indicate high stakeholder scrutiny regarding eligibility-underscoring transparency as pivotal amid ongoing judicial oversight.

Perhaps reduced electorate (~65 lakh fewer voters than July figures) alongside considerable notifications due against incomplete submissions raises questions about data completeness pre-polls-these developments merit close monitoring given their implications on participatory inclusion during elections.

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