Facing controversy over allegations of duplicate voter ID cards by Opposition parties, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday here clarified any inclusion or deletion to the draft elector list is governed by the process of appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections, available to all political parties in the Representation of People act, 1950. Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the EC said the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities.

Technical consultations between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and experts of the EC will begin soon on voter list-Aadhaar linkage, it said, adding that though an elector can only vote in the assigned polling booth and nowhere else, the poll body has resolved to remove duplicates countrywide and end a decades-long issue within three months. “Regular updation of the voter list shall be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities,” the EC said in a statement.

In the EC’s interactions with political parties, it was clarified that any inclusion or deletion in the draft elector list is governed by the process of appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections available to all political parties in the Representation of People

act, 1950.

In the absence of such appeals, the list as prepared by the electoral registration officer (ERO) prevails.

The EC recalled that merely 89 first appeals and just a single second appeal were filed after the completion of the Special Summary Revision exercise in January. The poll authority also said it has charted out “bold steps” towards strengthening election processes. It said nearly 5,000 poll officials, including state chief electoral officers, district electoral officers and electoral registration officers, will hold regular meetings with political parties for resolution of issues at the grassroots levels by March 31.

The poll panel said digital training has also been planned for continuous capacity augmentation of nearly one crore election officials. Within a month of Gyanesh Kumar assuming the charge as the chief election commissioner, the EC has put the entire election machinery, right up to the booth level and officer level, on a “path firmly on course for promoting participation of all electors and ensuring a pleasant experience for them at the polling stations”, it said.

Political parties being key stakeholders are also being involved at the grassroots level. Steps will be taken to ensure that no polling station has more than 1,200 voters and that the stations are within a two-km distance from the electors’ residences.

Basic facilities will be ensured even at the remotest rural polling stations, the EC said, adding that to tackle urban apathy and encourage more participation, clusters of high-rise buildings and colonies will have polling stations within their premises.

The offer of the commission to train political parties’ representatives and their appointed booth-level agents on the due processes in accordance with electoral laws, including claims and objections to the voter list, has been welcomed by political parties, it said.

“These bold and far-reaching initiatives span the entire gamut of elections and encompass all the key stakeholders in a participatory manner,” the EC said.