The Hindu : Poll preparedness discussed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 10, 2004

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Poll preparedness discussed

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, JAN. 9. The Election Commission today held a meeting of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all States and Union Territories to review the poll preparedness in the event of advancing the Lok Sabha elections to April/May. The Chief Election Commissioner, J.M. Lyngdoh, and the two Commissioners, T.S. Krishnamurthy and B.B. Tandon, asked the CEOs to finetune the poll machinery to ensure free and fair elections whenever they were held and quicken the process of revision of electoral rolls.

Commission sources told that though no poll schedule was discussed, the progress of revision of rolls was reviewed and it was indicated that the final publication of rolls was likely to be ready between January 20 and March 7.

With about 69 per cent of the electorate having been covered by the photo identity cards (PICs), it was stressed that the percentage of PICs should be increased so that more electorate could be covered. Unlike earlier elections when, apart from the PIC, 18 other identification instruments were allowed to enable the voter to cast his vote, sources said that this time the number of such instruments would be reduced and some form of photo identity would be insisted upon. However, a final decision was yet to be taken.

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