Shillong, 26 October (H.S.): Meghalaya’s

final electoral rolls published on Monday following the Special Intensive

Revision (SIR) have recorded 21,83,963 electors, marking a net increase of

14,720 voters from the draft rolls but a decline of 1,65,682 compared with the

electoral roll before the revision exercise began.

According to

the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Meghalaya, the final rolls for all

60 Assembly constituencies were published on October 26, with October 1, 2026,

as the qualifying date. The final tally comprises 10,59,743 male voters,

11,24,216 female voters and four third-gender electors. The gender ratio stands

at 1,061, while the elector-population ratio is 606.

Before the SIR

commenced, Meghalaya had 23,49,645 registered electors, including 11,58,740

men, 11,90,898 women and seven third-gender voters. The draft electoral rolls

published on August 5 contained 21,69,243 electors, following the enumeration

exercise that resulted in 1,80,402 names being excluded at the draft stage.

During the

house-to-house enumeration conducted from June 30 to July 29, Booth Level

Officers distributed 23,49,645 enumeration forms and received back 21,69,243.

The remaining 1,80,402 cases were categorised as absent (45,011), shifted

(42,532), deceased (81,490), duplicate entries (6,701) and others (4,668).

The revision

process also identified 2,22,786 electors whose records could not be mapped and

4,28,949 electors with logical discrepancies. Notices were generated for all

6,51,735 cases, and the Chief Electoral Officer’s statement said hearings were

completed in every case. Following the prescribed verification and hearing

process, 6,724 electors were deleted.

During the

claims and objections period, from August 5 to September 18, electoral

authorities accepted 21,694 applications for inclusion under Forms 6 and 6A,

2,276 applications for shifting of residence, 2,526 applications for deletion

and 12,860 applications for correction of particulars under Forms 7 and 8, as

applicable.

The final roll

reflects a net addition of 14,720 electors over the draft list, representing an

increase of approximately 0.68%. However, the overall number of registered

electors remains lower than the pre-SIR figure, making verification of names

particularly important for voters who were previously enrolled.

The CEO’s

office has urged electors to check their names and particulars through the

Election Commission of India’s Voters’ Services Portal at https://voters.eci.gov.in, the Chief

Electoral Officer, Meghalaya’s website at https://ceomeghalaya.nic.in,

the ECINET mobile application, or through Booth Level Officers and the offices

of Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration

Officers.

The state will

also undertake a special enrolment drive following the publication of the final

rolls. Special camps will be organised across districts to facilitate the

enrolment of eligible citizens, particularly those whose names appeared in the

pre-SIR rolls but are missing from the final list, first-time voters, young

electors, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

Eligible

citizens whose names have not been included in the final rolls can apply for

inclusion through Form 6, while Form 7 may be used for deletion requests and

Form 8 for correction or shifting of electoral particulars, as applicable.

The Chief

Electoral Officer, Dr B.D.R. Tiwari, said the electoral rolls would be made

available to recognised political parties in accordance with Election

Commission instructions. The office also acknowledged the role of political

parties, Booth Level Agents, civil society organisations, village authorities

and election officials in completing the revision exercise.

Persons

aggrieved by an order of an Electoral Registration Officer may appeal to the

District Magistrate or an officer of equivalent rank within the prescribed

15-day period. A second appeal may be filed before the Chief Electoral Officer

within 30 days of the first appellate authority’s order, subject to the

applicable statutory provisions.

The CEO’s

office has appealed to all eligible citizens to verify their names and use the

continuing enrolment facilities to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of

the electoral roll.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhijit Deb