ECI holds review meeting on advance planning for forthcoming elections

New Delhi: Election Commission of India yesterday hold a review meeting on advance planning for forthcoming elections with the Chief Electoral Officers, CEOs of the five states. These States are Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Interacting with the CEOs in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra said that transparency and impartiality are the hallmark of the election process.

He added that issues and challenges may be different in each state, but election planning needs to have a voter-centric approach and participative decision making involving all stakeholders. Mr Chandra stressed on the significance of the purity of the electoral roll and asked the CEOs for expeditious redressal of all pending applications with regard to voter registration.

He also emphasized on the need for rationalization of polling stations keeping in view the COVID 19 pandemic and



reiterated the need to have basic facilities and infrastructure at all polling stations. Mr Chandra also mentioned that all logistical challenges in implementation of postal ballot facility to senior citizens of above 80 years and persons with disabilities need to be identified. Chief Election Commissioner also said that states should learn and adopt innovations and best practices in election management from the poll gone states or other States.

In his address, Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey  highlighted the need to activate the ground level election machinery in the five states to start the preparations for the forthcoming elections. He mentioned that CEOs should focus on filling up infrastructure gaps and logistics requirement, updation and  purification of electoral rolls as well as an extensive voter education empowerment outreach program.