Parties didn’t check voters' lists at ‘appropriate time’ to flag errors: EC on Opposition's charge

Seeking to counter opposition parties’ allegations of fudging in voter data, the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday said it seems that some political parties did not examine the electoral rolls at the “appropriate time” to point out errors to the poll machinery and noted that it welcomes a scrutiny of the document to help its officials remove flaws.

In a statement, EC said the period for raising claims and objections after the draft voters’ list is published is the appropriate time for parties to flag flaws.

“It seems that some political parties and their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) did not examine the electoral rolls at the appropriate time and did not point out errors, if any...,” it said.

It noted that recently, some political parties and individuals raised issues about errors in the electoral rolls, including the electoral rolls prepared in the past.

The appropriate time, it said, to raise any issue with the electoral rolls would have been during the “Claims and Objections” period.

“... which is precisely the objective behind sharing the electoral rolls with all political parties and the candidates. Had these issues been raised at the right time through the right channels, it would have enabled the concerned electoral registration officer to correct the mistakes, if genuine, before those elections,” the poll panel said.

EC said it continues to welcome a scrutiny of the electoral rolls by political parties and any elector.

“It will help EROs to remove the errors and purify the electoral rolls which has always been the objective of EC,” it said.