The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Poll process to be completed by May 28

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Poll process to be completed by May 28

Special Correspondent

Chief Election Commissioner Gopalaswami unhappy with review of electoral rolls

— Photo: K. Gopinathan

POLL READY: N. Gopalaswami (centre), Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioners Naveen B. Chawla (right) and S.Y. Quraishi, in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: The Legislative Assembly elections in the State will be completed ahead of the May 28 deadline and the Election Commission on Thursday exuded confidence that the election machinery would be in place for a smooth conduct of the process.

Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and the two Election Commissioners, Navin Chawla and S.Y. Quraishi, have been in Bangalore for the past two days to review the preparations. Chief Electoral Officer of State R. Ramaseshan accompanied them.

They called on Governor Rameshwar Thakur on Wednesday and held meetings with senior officials of the Government. Representations were also made to the commission by the leaders of political parties.

Briefing presspersons here on Thursday, Mr. Gopalaswami expressed dissatisfaction over the review of electoral rolls undertaken from November 2 to November 17 last and said the latest findings indicated that 33.48 lakh names have to be deleted from the electoral rolls while 9.27 lakh fresh entries have to be made.

Fresh draft

A fresh draft of the electoral rolls would be published on February 7 and the final notification on March 10.

Following the fresh schedule, January 31, 2008 would be the cut off date for eligibility to be included in the electoral rolls. In other words, youth who attain the voting age on or before January 31 could seek the inclusion of their names in the list.

About the districts or regions where discrepancies had occurred, the CEC refused to identify them and said corrective steps have now been taken.

There are also cases of people shifting from one region to another and not ensuring that their names are deleted from the rolls in one place and added in their new place of residence.

The Election Commission has decided to provide a copy of the fresh electoral rolls to all political parties even though it is not required to do so.

The effort would enable the commission to correct discrepancies, if any.

To a question on the proposed implementation of the Kuldip Singh Commission report on delimitation of constituencies and the likely impact on the Assembly elections in the State, Mr. Gopalaswami said the implementation of the report was not within the purview of the commission. It was a matter for a Presidential notification.

However, the election authorities required at least six months to complete the election process after the report is implemented.

Whether elections in the State would be held in more than one phase, he said it depended on various factors and not merely on the prevailing law and order situation.

Generally, elections in the State have been held in two phases with the coastal and the northern districts going to polls on one day and the remaining districts on another.

ID card

On the issue of voter identity cards, Mr. Gopalaswami said it served a distinct advantage in enabling the identification of a voter, although a voter identity card could not ensure the right to vote. A voter enjoyed the right to vote only if his or her name was on the electoral rolls.

A single identity card issued by the Government which is mandatory for all citizens for all occasions will enable in eliminating duplication of names in the voters list. It will help in checking absentee voters or those who have shifted from one region to another.

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