Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 26
Although needful notifications have reportedly been issued on February 4 this year that the electoral list for Dimapur are available for inspection at the Additional Deputy Commissioner’s office, it is learned that the list was made available only on February 24. It is learned that the electoral roll had to be sent back to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kohima to rectify a number of errors – serial numbering – of the lists.
According to a reliable source, the errors in the electoral lists are due to shortage of manpower in the CEO’s office. More manpower with “proper computer knowledge” should be recruited so that mistakes are not committed while entering data, the source said.
However, Chief Election Officer of Nagaland J Alam has said that voters and political parties become concerned about electoral lists only during “election period”. “...not that the political parties have not helped us during the process” but rushing in the eleventh hour will only increase errors, he said.
The official said “it will take a long time” to correct the anomalies in the electoral roll. However, voters should be vigilant while entering their details in the forms, which in turn avoid further anomalies, he said. He added that some voters have not submitted their photos and need to submit it.
According to the CEO, complaints being raised by voters over their rolls or enlistment are a good sign. Their concern shows that the voters today are more conscious about their rights.
Earlier, he said, people were less bothered even if their details were incorrect. “...people with wrong name, they go and vote,” he said. However, with the new system - photo electoral rolls, voters have become more concerned.
The Chief Election Officer pointed out that the EPIC has been very successful since it has covered 80 % of voters. Earlier this exercise covered only 42% of the voters. EPIC is a continuous exercise and corrections would be made systematically, he added.
Also, enquiring on the update for the electoral lists in the CEO’s website, Alam said he will ‘look into the matter’ and get the details uploaded at the earliest so that it will make things convenient for the public.
Also, the ADC of Dimapur Sedevikho Khro, also the Electoral Registration Officer, said voters need to check their names and if their names are not included or their details are incorrect, they have to fill in the Form-6 again and submit it to the election office.
On Proxy Voting
Chief Election Officer Alam said the Election Commission of India executed a new way of checking proxy voting in the recent Manipur General Election – photographs taken of the voters while they vote. However, for Nagaland, no new procedure has been specified, he said.
In regard to misuse of names of demised voters, Electoral Registration Officer Khro said “the easiest way” to tackle the issue is the Village Council informing the Booth Level Officers (BLO) and omit the names of deceased voters from the list to avoid proxy voting. He said coordination between village councils and the BLOs is very important in handling such matters.
