DIMAPUR |  The Election Commission of India (ECI) has given 1,57,752 electors excluded from Nagaland’s draft electoral roll another opportunity to seek inclusion in the final voter list under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The decision follows the publication of the draft electoral roll on September 20, which recorded 12,06,457 electors against the 13,57,208 registered before the revision exercise.

Of the 1,57,752 electors left out of the draft list, 1,23,749 were categorised as absent, permanently shifted or other, while 28,944 were identified as deceased. Another 5,059 cases involved duplicate or multiple enrolments.

In a letter dated November 6, the Election Commission directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of Nagaland and six other states to facilitate the submission of fresh enumeration forms by electors classified under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) categories whose forms had not been received during the initial exercise.

The Commission has instructed state election authorities to publicise the additional opportunity through newspapers, social media platforms, official websites and public announcements to ensure that eligible voters are not deprived of their right to be included in the electoral roll.

As part of the exercise, booth-wise lists of excluded electors must be displayed afresh on polling station notice boards, panchayat bhawans and urban local body offices. The lists, along with the probable reasons for exclusion, must also be uploaded as readable PDF documents on the respective Chief Electoral Officers’ websites.

The ECI has further directed the state election machinery to establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure that every eligible elector gets an opportunity to seek inclusion while preventing duplicate entries. Chief Electoral Officers have also been asked to submit action-taken reports on the implementation of the instructions.

For electors who have shifted within Nagaland, the Commission has clarified that submission of Form 8 will not be necessary. They will, however, have to submit the enumeration form along with a declaration mentioning their new address and Assembly constituency, supported by valid proof of residence.

Such electors can also approach the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of the polling station in the area to which they have shifted.

The fresh opportunity is intended to address possible omissions during the enumeration process and provide eligible electors another avenue to secure their place in the final electoral roll.