NEW DELHI: A full meeting of the Election Commission of India on Saturday – the first after reports of alleged internal differences – decided to exempt electors who have got notices for being unmapped to the last SIR or over logical discrepancies, from hearings by electoral registration officer (ERO) or assistant EROs. Instead, EROs and AEROs will visit homes of such electors to collect documents that would then be uploaded to ECINet for a final decision by the ERO.The EC also agreed to an independent audit of ECINET software though it rejected allegations that EROs were being locked out.“Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, hearing will be held, preferably online. Any adult member of the family can be authorised by the elector to attend the hearing on their behalf, if required,” the EC said in a statement after the meeting attended by CEC Gyanesh Kumar and election commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.EC also agreed to an independent audit of ECINET software even as it rejected allegations that booth-level officers and EROs were being kept out.Facilities for online hearing will be strengthened, while DEOs will create enough help desks and hold special camps for the poor, labourers, homeless people, and those in night shelters.The relief for electors who received notices under SIR follows criticism from affected voters and opposition that genuine citizens are being inconvenienced by discrepancies flagged by ECINET.These include name or gender mismatch; less than a 15-year gap with a parent; less than a 40-year gap with a grandparent; being one of six progeny mapped to the same parent; and less than a nine-month gap between siblings.Until now, notice recipients had to appear before the ERO at the specified time and place with documents proving eligibility to remain on the rolls. With large numbers of notices in states like Delhi, including to prominent persons, many said citizens were forced to run around to retain voting rights.
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EC has also denied reports that field officers were locked out of ECINET, saying role-based access exists, but agreed to an independent audit. A senior DEC-led panel will review ECINET to double-check that it complies with the provisions of the Acts and rules and submit a report to EC.
