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ECI Shifts Micro-Observer Duties in Bengal's Voter List Revision

The Election Commission of India has changed the responsibilities of micro-observers involved in West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision of the voter list. Their focus will shift from overseeing hearing sessions to ensuring proper upload of supporting identity documents as per ECI guidelines. This decision was made during a virtual meeting between the full ECI bench and state election officials, with a strict deadline of February 7 for completing hearings and uploads. The final voter list is scheduled for publication on February 14, ahead of the crucial Assembly elections later this year.

Key Points: ECI Changes Bengal Micro-Observer Role in Voter List Review

  • Role shift from hearing oversight to document upload verification
  • First-level filter for supporting identity documents
  • Special roll observers to conduct super-checks
  • All tasks must meet Feb 7 deadline
2 min read

Bengal SIR: ECI changes responsibility of micro-observers from Feb 2

ECI re-assigns micro-observers in Bengal to supervise document uploads for voter list hearings, aiming for completion by Feb 7 deadline.

"The micro-observers will supervise and ensure that only documents listed by the Commission are uploaded - CEO Office Insider"

Kolkata, Jan 30

The Election Commission of India, on Friday, announced the change of responsibilities of the micro-observers engaged in the review of the hearings on claims and objections regarding the draft voters' list in West Bengal, which is the current stage of the ongoing special intensive revision.

As of now, the micro-observers had been deputed at the different hearing centres to supervise whether the hearing sessions were being conducted as per the guidelines set by the ECI.

However, insiders from the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said that from Monday onwards, the micro-observers will be assigned to supervise whether the supporting identity documents furnished by the voters during the hearing session are uploaded in the system or not, following the ECI-mandated guidelines or not.

"The micro-observers will supervise and ensure that only documents listed by the Commission are uploaded as supporting identity documents. However, the micro-observers will be the first-level of filter in the matter. After the documents are uploaded, the special roll observers will super-check the documents uploaded and will filter cases where unlisted documents have been uploaded," an insider from the CEO's Office said.

The decision was taken at a marathon virtual meeting of the full bench of ECI with the top officials from the CEO's office and the special roll observers.

On Friday, the ECI had also made it clear that under all circumstances, the tasks of completing the hearing session and uploading the documents will have to be completed by the scheduled deadline of February 7.

The final voters' list in West Bengal is scheduled to be published on February 14.

Later, the ECI's full bench will come to Kolkata, and following that, the polling dates for the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal scheduled later this year will be announced.

The SIR has been underway in 12 states and Union Territories of the country, including West Bengal, since November 4.

The draft voters' list was published in West Bengal on December 16 following which the hearing phase regarding the SIR began.

In the first stage of the SIR, hearings were done for the "unmapped" voters, which had already been completed.

In the current stage of the SIR, hearings for the "logical discrepancy" cases are underway.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
The deadline of February 7 seems very tight. I hope the officials are given proper support to complete this massive task without errors. Rushing such a critical process can lead to mistakes.
A
Arun Y
Micro-observers are the eyes and ears of the ECI on the ground. Changing their focus to document uploads is a smart, tactical shift for this phase. The two-tier check (micro-observer then special observer) should improve accuracy.
S
Sarah B
Working in Kolkata, I've seen how heated the political environment can get. Every step to ensure transparency in the voter list is welcome. The integrity of the electoral roll is the foundation of a fair election.
V
Vikram M
Hope this stops the upload of any questionable documents. In previous elections, there were always allegations about fake voters. This systematic approach with clear accountability (micro-observers) is the need of the hour.
K
Kriti O
Respectfully, while the intent is good, I'm concerned about the practical implementation. Are these micro-observers trained well enough for this technical task of verifying document uploads? A small training gap can create big issues.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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