Goa is ahead of other states in digitisation of SIR forms but concerns, if any, need to be addressed
With just over a week remaining for the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, enumeration forms of more than two-thirds of the present voters have been digitized. SIR exercise started in Goa and eight other states on November 4, without much publicity. Initially, many were confused and apprehensive. It took them more than a week or so to understand what the objective of the exercise is. Many were not aware of what was to be done even after they had received the forms. No doubt, Goa did well in getting the forms distributed quickly. ECI has roped in political parties and their agents in completing the process.
To facilitate citizens and provide prompt assistance regarding electoral roll queries including deletions, inclusions, corrections and other related services at the Collector and District Election Officers’ level, helpdesks were set up from November 4 itself. Constituency-wise helpdesk numbers were also announced for the benefit of the voters.
According to the ECI officers, this exercise aims to ensure that the electoral rolls of the State “are accurate, inclusive, and updated, enabling every eligible citizen of Goa to participate in polling”. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to conduct house-to-house verification to ensure the accuracy of entries and to provide necessary assistance to electors, especially Persons with disabilities (PwDs) and senior citizens.
On the other hand, a couple of groups have raised apprehensions regarding the implementation and timeline of the current SIR exercise. The Opposition has also alleged that some voters may be left disenfranchised and questioned the haste in conducting the exercise. In some states, deaths have been reported of BLOs which the Opposition said is indicative of political pressure.
Former senior bureaucrat Elvis Gomes has said that the exercise faces procedural challenges. The online link for enumeration, he said, started after nearly 7 days since the beginning of the exercise. He said even a slight mismatch in the name shown in Aadhaar card and Voter ID card prevents a user from proceeding to fill the form. His organisation – Citizens for Democracy has said that in the contemporary Goan society, the reality is that thousands of entire households, consisting of working professionals, are often away from home either living in urban areas or in cities outside the state or even the country. This situation would obviously be making it difficult for the BLOs to effectively guide, distribute and collect the completed forms. In this situation, strict adherence to the one-month deadline, he said, would be insufficient particularly in view of the strenuous nature of the activity carried out by the BLOs. On the contrary, migrant populations, who are often seeking voter status in their current location in Goa or whose addresses are transient, are more likely to be extended political patronage to get them in the voter rolls. It has said that this has also become challenging particularly for the elderly who obviously may not have their parents’ details in 2002. Also questions are being raised whether all the NRIs who are citizens of India, will be able to retain their names on the electoral rolls.
By Tuesday, enumeration forms of 78.62% of the existing voters had been collected and digitised. Going by this pace, Goa will achieve the target within the time limit. Nonetheless, the election authorities need to take a review and look into the concerns raised by the citizens. The civil society wants the authorities to ensure that under the garb of cleansing of the electoral rolls, unfortunate disenfranchisement of eligible citizens is completely avoided.
