Voter roll transparency: Officials urge party cooperation in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam district Roll Observer S. Bhargavi on Monday called upon all recognised political parties to cooperate in the preparation of a transparent electoral roll. Speaking at a review meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 process, she said parties should submit written objections with supporting evidence if they find discrepancies in the draft roll.

Ms. Bhargavi, who is also the Director of Tribal Welfare, reviewed the progress of the ongoing revision exercise alongside District Collector Abhishikth Kishore. The meeting was attended by representatives of recognised political parties and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The agenda included the status of forms received, publication of the draft roll, notices issued to voters who had not returned forms, and identification of voters who had died or migrated. The officials also examined the status of Forms 6, 7, and 8, which are used for new registrations, deletions, and corrections respectively.

A key concern raised during the meeting was the low enrolment of young voters. According to projections based on the 2026 population, an estimated 1,04,866 persons aged 18 and 19 are eligible for enrolment in the district. However, only 4,787 of them have been registered so far. Ms. Bhargavi directed officials to conduct a special drive to enrol eligible young voters and to accelerate the overall enrolment process.

She noted that the voter enumeration in Visakhapatnam district was better than in other districts and appreciated the efforts of the Collector and officials. At the same time, she instructed them to intensify field-level verification of voters who had died, migrated, or failed to return forms. She also said that any one of the 11 official identity documents prescribed by the Election Commission could be used for identifying voters whose records had not been mapped, and called for greater awareness among citizens.

Ms. Bhargavi urged political parties to cooperate at the booth level and to submit written complaints with supporting evidence on issues such as corrections and duplicate enrolments. She asked EROs to expedite the disposal of pending Forms 6, 7, and 8 and to prepare constituency-wise action plans.

Collector Abhishikth Kishore, for his part, directed officials to scrutinise the reasons and supporting documents when voters who were previously absent, migrated, or deleted apply afresh through Form 6. He also requested political parties to appoint booth-level agents for the 163 newly established polling stations in the district.

The meeting underscored the shared responsibility of election officials and political parties in ensuring that the voter list is accurate, inclusive, and free of errors. The SIR process is a periodic exercise aimed at updating the electoral rolls to reflect the current population, and the cooperation of all stakeholders is essential for its success.