Clean voter lists need support of all parties: CEO

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Yadav has appealed to all political parties to cooperate in preparing clean and error-free electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)–2026 exercise. Addressing a meeting with representatives of political parties at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, he said the revision drive was being undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission of India to strengthen the credibility of the democratic process.

Vivek Yadav said rapid urbanisation, migration for education and employment, and population shifts over the past two decades had resulted in issues such as duplicate voter registrations, names of deceased persons remaining in the rolls, and names of people who had permanently shifted elsewhere not being deleted. He said the revision exercise aims to ensure that every eligible Indian citizen is enrolled while removing ineligible, duplicate, or shifted voters from the list.

He said July 1, 2026 has been fixed as the qualifying date for the revision process in Andhra Pradesh. Preparatory activities, training, and printing of enumeration forms will be conducted from June 5 to June 14, while Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will carry out door-to-door distribution and collection of forms between June 15 and July 14. The draft electoral rolls will be published on July 21, 2026, and claims or objections can be filed till August 20. The final voter list will be published on September 22 after completion of hearings and verification procedures.

The CEO clarified that Aadhaar can only be used as an identity proof and not as proof of citizenship or residence. He also assured that no voter’s name would be deleted without due inquiry and proper orders.