Eci

CEC Gyanesh Kumar assumes chair of international poll body for 2026

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday assumed the chairship of the Council of Member States of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for the year 2026 at Stockholm. In his acceptance speech, Kumar highlighted the scale of India's democratic exercise, noting that the country has over 900 million electors across 28 states and eight Union Territories. Reflecting upon the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said that India witnessed a breathtaking democratic spectacle where over 20,000 candidates from 743 political parties, including six national and 67 state parties, participated. Affirming the direction ahead, the chief election commissioner (CEC) pledged that India's chairmanship will be decisive, ambitious and action-oriented. As chair, Kumar will steer the council's work around India's overall theme for the Chairship "Democracy for an inclusive, peaceful, resilient and sustainable world", the Election Commission said in a

ECI extends nationwide SIR process by one week amid ongoing roll updates

The Election Commission on Sunday extended by one week the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories. In a statement, the poll authority said the enumeration form distribution will now continue till December 11 instead of December 4. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 in place of December 9, while the final voters' list will be out on February 14, 2026 in place of February 7. The EC had announced SIR in these states and UTs on October 27.

EC may appoint volunteers to assist in SIR of West Bengal electoral rolls

The Election Commission of India (ECI) may appoint volunteers to assist booth-level officers (BLOs) during the probable special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, a senior official said on Sunday. The volunteers are likely to be drawn from among government employees in each block for the exercise that may be launched soon, he said. "This is at the planning stage... These assistants will help the BLOs fill out enumeration forms and may also be deployed as substitutes, if required," the official told PTI. The volunteers will primarily be assigned to polling stations having more than 1,200 voters, he added. "As a result of this cap on the number of voters per booth, the number of polling booths in the state is likely to increase by around 14,000, from the existing 80,000 to around 94,000," the official said. For the exercise, the block development officers (BDOs) in several districts have written to school inspectors seeking lists of permanent teachers, clerk

ECI makes pre-certification mandatory for political ads on social media

The Election Commission has directed all national and state parties, as well as contesting candidates, to obtain MCMC approval before publishing or airing any political advertisements

Over half voters in most states may not have documents in SIR: EC officials

More than half the electorate in most of the states may not have to provide any document as they will be covered in the electoral roll of the last special intensive revision (SIR) held in their states, Election Commission officials said on Wednesday. They pointed out that most states had the last special intensive revision of the voters' list between 2002 and 2004. That year will be considered their cutoff date for the next SIR. The Election Commission will soon decide on the date to roll out special intensive revision pan-India, and the exercise to clean up the voter list across states may take place before the end of the year, officials had earlier said. Chief electoral officers have been told to keep the electoral rolls of their states, published after the previous SIR, ready. Some state CEOs have already put up the voter list published after their last SIR on their websites. The website of the Delhi CEO has the 2008 voter list when the last intensive revision took place in the

ECI may launch nationwide electoral roll revision in October: Report

The official announcement for the Special Intensive Revision may be made before polling in Bihar concludes, according to an India Today report

EC top brass reviews pan-India SIR preparedness with state poll machinery

A crucial meeting of the Election Commission with its state officials is underway to discuss preparations for a pan-India roll out of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. While senior EC officials are expected to make a presentation on the SIR policy of the Commission, the chief electoral officer of Bihar would share the state's experience in implementing SIR. This is the third meeting of CEOs after Gyanesh Kumar took over as the chief election commissioner in February. However, Wednesday's day-long meeting assumes significance as the preparedness of a pan-India SIR are being discussed, officials said. The Commission has said that after Bihar, SIR will be carried out in the entire country. There are indications that the exercise would commence later this year ahead of assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2026. The primary aim of the intensive revision is to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of ..

'Elections are choreographed': Rahul Gandhi's big claim against EC, BJP

Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale voter fraud in Karnataka's Mahadevapura, claimed Election Commission colluded with BJP; claims over 100,000 fake votes cast

ECI hid reasons for deleting 6.5 mn voters in Bihar draft roll: ADR to SC

The Supreme Court sought the Election Commission's reply on ADR plea alleging removal of key data from Bihar draft roll; the petitioner says absence of reason for deletion undermines transparency

EC releases Bihar draft rolls: Here's how to check your voter status

The Election Commission has published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar after a month-long revision drive; voters can file claims or objections until September 1 and check names online

Exclusion errors: ECI must ensure genuine voters are not left out

Ever since it was set up, and without a definitive proof of citizenship issued under the Citizenship Act, the ECI has done a commendable job in preparing inclusive electoral rolls

Consider Aadhaar for Bihar voter roll revision: Supreme Court to EC

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to accept Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents for the Special Intensive Revision of Bihar electoral rolls

EC's voter verification drive stirs political pot ahead of Bihar polls

While the poll body insists its drive will ensure integrity of electoral rolls, the Opposition alleges it will disenfranchise millions from marginalised sections. Archis Mohan explains

Special Intensive Revision in Bihar 'on schedule', says CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Special Intensive Revision is a focused voter list update exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India to ensure electoral rolls are accurate ahead of upcoming elections

Election Commission initiates proceedings to delist 345 RUPPs across India

It has come to the notice of the Commission that of the over 2,800 RUPPs currently registered with ECI, many RUPPs have failed to fulfil the essential conditions required to continue as an RUPP

EC overhauls voter turnout reporting ahead of Bihar polls: What's new?

After facing criticism for delays and discrepancies during earlier polls, the EC is moving to a faster, tech-driven system for sharing voter turnout data. Watch the video for details.

ECI clarifies same Electors Photo ID number does not indicate fake voters

The ECI's clarification comes after concerns were raised on social media and in media reports about electors in different states having identical EPIC numbers

Jharkhand lone outlier as youth voter share declines, shows ECI data

Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh witnessed some of the sharpest declines of young electors

SC asks Election Commission response on pleas for EVM verification

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Election Commission of India's response on the pleas seeking verification of the burnt memory and symbol loading units in EVMs in compliance of its judgement. A special bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta asked the poll panel to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process. The pleas sought a direction to the poll panel to check and verify burnt memory/micro-controllers and the symbol loading unit (SLU) of electronic voting machines (EVM). The bench asked the poll panel to file its response within 15 days and explain the procedure adopted and posted the matter in the week commencing March 3. Irked over suppression of the fact relating to a similar petition which was dismissed as withdrawn, the bench said it would not hear a fresh plea filed by former Haryana minister and five-time MLA Karan Singh Dalal seeking a policy for the verification of EVMs. The bench issued notices to the

India nears 1 bn voters, with youth, women driving electoral growth: EC

The number of voters in India now stands at 99.1 crore, up from 96.88 crore when the Lok Sabha elections were held last year, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday. In a statement issued ahead of National Voters' Day, the EC said the electoral rolls bear a youthful and gender-balanced look with 21.7 crore young electors in the 18-29 age group and a six-point increase in electoral gender ratio from 948 in 2024 to 954 in 2025. National Voters' Day is celebrated on January 25 every year to mark the foundation day of the EC, which was established on this day in 1950. Addressing a press conference here on January 7 to announce the Delhi assembly poll schedule, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said India would soon create a new record of one billion-plus voters. "Electoral rolls were released yesterday (January 6). We are crossing 99 crore voters... We are going to be a nation of one billion voters very soon, which will be another record in voting," he said. "After