Thiruvananthapuram: VIP and NRI (expatriate) voters will no longer be required to appear in person for hearings during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, as authorities have allowed verification through the submission of documents.

According to Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) can complete the verification through the now-operational online platform, ERO Net, provided the documents are in order. On January 2, Manorama had reported that voters who were earlier registered as ordinary voters but later became expatriates faced the risk of being removed from the electoral rolls as they were unable to attend hearings in person.

Nearly two lakh new applications
Since the publication of the draft SIR electoral roll in the state, as many as 1,97,813 people have submitted fresh applications for inclusion in the voters list. Of these, 44,106 applications were received from those seeking registration as NRI voters.

While more than 22 lakh Keralites live abroad, the number of expatriate voters currently listed on the electoral rolls remains below one lakh.

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Registration as an expatriate voter must be done through Form 6A, with the passport serving as the primary supporting document.

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