SHILLONG: Meghalaya’s voter base has registered a notable contraction following a comprehensive administrative clean-up, with the state’s final photo electoral rolls for all 60 Assembly constituencies officially published on Monday with October 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.
Releasing the data, Chief Electoral Officer Dr. BDR Tiwari announced that the state’s total registered electorate now stands at 21,83,963, reflecting a substantial net drop of 1,65,682 electors compared to the pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) count of 23,49,645.
Before the SIR exercise kicked off, Meghalaya’s voter demographics comprised 11,58,740 male, 11,90,898 female, and 7 third-gender electors, with a gender ratio of 1028 and an Elector-Population (EP) ratio of 651.
The extensive purification drive unfolded in rigorous phases, beginning with a house-to-house enumeration conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) between June 30 and July 29.
During this window, BLOs distributed 23,49,645 enumeration forms, but only 21,69,243 were successfully retrieved.
The remaining 1,80,402 uncollected forms were excluded from the draft roll published on August 5.
Dr. Tiwari detailed that the massive uncollected pool left out of the draft comprised 81,490 deceased individuals, 45,011 absent voters, 42,532 shifted residents, 6,701 duplicate entries, and 4,668 others.
Consequently, the draft roll opened with 21,69,243 electors—featuring 1,053,039 males, 11,16,199 females, and 5 third-gender individuals—which elevated the state’s gender ratio to 1060.
To maintain absolute integrity, election authorities subsequently generated 6,51,735 notices, targeting 2,22,786 unmapped electors and 4,28,949 cases with logical discrepancies.
Following 100 percent completion of hearings across all 6,51,735 issued notices, due legal process led to the deletion of an additional 6,724 electors.
A subsequent claims and objections window, running from August 5 to September 18, injected fresh vitality into the rolls.
Authorities accepted 21,694 inclusions via Form 6 and 6A, alongside 2,276 shifting applications, 2,526 deletions, and 12,860 corrections.
This post-draft phase generated a net increase of 14,720 electors, or 0.68 percent, pushing the final tally to 21,83,963.
The newly published final roll features 10,59,743 male electors, 11,24,216 female electors, and 4 third-gender electors, marking a notable demographic shift where female voters outnumber males.
The gender ratio further strengthened to 1061, while the EP ratio adjusted to 606.
Urging active participation, Dr. Tiwari advised all citizens to verify their names through official channels, including the voter portals voters.eci.gov.in and ceomeghalaya.nic.in, the ECINET App, or by visiting local BLO and ERO/AERO offices.
He also reminded the public that statutory appeals against any Electoral Registration Officer order can be pursued before the District Magistrate within 15 days under Section 24(a), with a second appeal lying before the CEO within 30 days under Section 24(b).
To ensure no eligible citizen is left behind, the Chief Electoral Officer announced special enrolment camps across all districts, adhering to an Election Commission of India directive dated October 1, 2026.
These targeted camps are meant for electors whose names appeared in pre-SIR rolls but are currently missing, alongside unenrolled eligible citizens, first-time young voters, senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and vulnerable communities.
Concluding his briefing, Dr. Tiwari expressed profound gratitude to electors, political parties, Booth Level Agents, traditional institutions like Dorbar Shnongs and Nokmas, the media, and the entire election machinery—including DEOs, EROs, AEROs, BLO Supervisors, and BLOs—for successfully shepherding the complex revision exercise to its completion.
(4FrontMedia news)
ALSO READ: Meghalaya Launches SIR 2026: 1.19 Lakh Enumeration Forms Distributed on Day 1
