Kerala SIR: Voter enrolment open till January 30

Thiruvananthapuram: The Election Commission of India has extended the deadline for submitting objections and claims under the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, with applications for inclusion in the voters’ list now open till January 30.

If the documents to be submitted by applicants are found to be in order, their names will be included in the final SIR voters’ list, scheduled for publication on February 21. Those whose names were omitted from the draft SIR roll, as well as new applicants seeking enrolment, must apply using Form 6. Overseas voters must submit applications using Form 6A, with their passport serving as their primary proof of identity.

All applicants must also submit a declaration form containing details that help link them to family members listed in the 2002 SIR electoral roll. If such information is unavailable, applicants may submit any one of the following documents:

1. Birth certificate of the applicant and parents
2. Caste certificate
3. Passport
4. Identity cards issued before 1987 by the Union or State governments, local self-government institutions, public sector undertakings or banks
5. Permanent residence certificates issued by the State authorities
6. Educational certificates issued by recognised boards or universities.

If the names of deceased persons or those no longer residing at the given address appear in the current draft roll, applications for deletion can be submitted using Form 7. Voters whose names already appear in the draft roll but require corrections or a change of address must apply through Form 8. Applications should be submitted online through the Election Commission of India’s website (eci.gov.in) or the Chief Electoral Officer’s website (ceo.kerala.gov.in). While applications may also be submitted directly to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), complaints have surfaced that many of these officials are not accepting the forms due to their heavy workload in distributing hearing notices.

Hearings till February 14
Hearing notices are being issued to voters whose names appear in the draft SIR roll but whose details could not be matched with the 2002 electoral roll. Notices are also being sent to those whose enumeration forms contained discrepancies. Hearings in such cases will be held on different dates up to February 14 at camps organised within the respective polling booth limits. If the required documents are submitted either through BLOs or online and are found to be in order, the hearing may be avoided. Documents should be uploaded through the website voters.eci.gov.in.