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The decision to involve the EROs in the discussion comes at a time when opposition parties are questioning the sanctity of voter lists across states
Opposition parties, including the AAP, Congress and the Trinamool Congress, have been accusing the EC of not maintaining purity of the electoral roll in the last few months. (PTI)
The Election Commission of India (EC) is taking a step forward in bringing to the forefront the second and third-tier officials involved in the poll process by inviting District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) from across the country to a conference called by newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The two-day conference has been called in Delhi on March 4 and 5 at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management. Apart from the Chief Electoral Officers of all states/UTs, the DEOs and the EROs working under them have also been called for the first time.
While CEOs are in-charge of the elections at the state levels, the DEOs are for districts and EROs are for the assembly constituency levels. The EROs are responsible for preparing and revising the electoral roll for each constituency. The ERO is appointed by the EC and is a civil service or revenue officer of Sub Divisional Officers.
The decision to involve the EROs in the discussion comes at a time when opposition parties are questioning the sanctity of voter lists across states.
As per sources, more than 100 officials from various states will be taking part in the conference, including EROs.
The two-day conference, according to EC, will offer a platform for the election officials to brainstorm and learn from each other’s experiences from various elections.
Modern election management, including IT architecture, effective communication, enhancing social media outreach and statutory role of different functionaries in the electoral processes will be the focus of discussion.
This will be the first big conference since Kumar took charge as CEC last week.
Opposition parties, including the AAP, Congress and the Trinamool Congress, have been accusing the EC of not maintaining purity of the electoral roll in the last few months.
Last week, TMC claimed that some officials from the poll body are conspiring with the BJP to add names of outsiders to the voter list without proper physical verification across the state, particularly in the border areas.
The AAP raised the issue of name deletion of eligible voters in Delhi during the recently concluded assembly polls in the city. Congress has been speaking about the discrepancies in the voters’ list since its defeat in the Maharashtra assembly last year.
