Poll panel to hold special camps on electoral rolls

To make the electoral lists more accurate, the Election Commission has asked all states and Union Territories to hold two-day special camps to rectify errors, if any, and to include the names of eligible voters, a top official said here on Thursday.

"In view of the impending general elections to the Lok Sabha and in order to provide further opportunity to all un-enrolled eligible persons to enroll in the electoral rolls, two-day special camps would be arranged in all states and Union Territories across the country," Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti told IANS.

He said: "Following the directive of the Election Commission, the special camps would be held in all polling stations of 26 states and Union Territories on February 23 and 24. The special camps would be conducted in the remaining states and Union Territories on March 2, 3 and March 8, 9, respectively."

The CEO said that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and the designated officers would be present in the special camps under the respective polling station areas along with the electoral rolls.

"The electoral rolls shall also be read out publicly during the camps to facilitate uneducated voters. These camps are intended to facilitate the voters to verify their names in the electoral rolls and to correct their names and other details, if required, so that they could also exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections," Taranikanti said.

The poll panel also requested all the recognised political parties to appoint Booth Level Assistants (BLAs) and advise them to remain present in the special camps.

He said that following the directions of the Election Commission, all political parties have also been requested not to use plastic and materials that cause environmental degradation.

An Election Commission official, now visiting the northeastern states, said that except three to four states including Mizoram and Assam, the photo-affixed electoral rolls with January 1, 2019 as the qualifying date of age, have already been published in most of the states and Union Territories.

Mizoram Chief Electoral Officer Ashish Kundra said in Aizawl that the final electoral rolls of Mizoram would be published on Friday.

--IANS

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