Shillong, August 5: The Election Commission has published the Draft Electoral Roll for Meghalaya under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026, following a statewide verification exercise that covered 23,49,645 electors across all 60 Assembly constituencies in the state’s 12 districts.
Announcing the publication on Wednesday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Dr. B. D. Tiwari, IAS, said the draft electoral roll has been released as per the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) notified schedule. The statutory period for filing claims and objections will remain open from August 5 to September 4, 2026.
Addressing a press conference, Dr. Tiwari said copies of the draft electoral roll have been made available at the offices of all District Election Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). Recognised national and state political parties have been provided one hard copy with photographs and one soft copy without photographs, while traditional heads have received hard copies without photographs. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have also been supplied copies to facilitate public inspection.
The CEO said the Special Intensive Revision involved a 100 per cent house-to-house verification, during which 23,49,645 electors were covered through the distribution and collection of Enumeration Forms.
According to the verification findings:
- 33.01% of electors were successfully mapped with their own records from the SIR 2005 database.
- 49.83% were linked through the electoral records of their parents or grandparents.
- 2,22,786 electors (9.48%) could not be linked with the SIR 2005 database and have been placed under the ‘No Mapping’ category. These cases will undergo detailed verification during the claims and objections period.
During the revision, election officials also identified 1,80,402 electors (7.68%) under the Absent, Shifted, Deceased and Duplicate (ASDD) categories, whose names have been removed from the draft roll. These include:
- 81,490 deceased electors (3.47%)
- 45,011 absent or untraceable electors (1.92%)
- 42,532 permanently shifted electors (1.81%)
- 4,668 electors who refused Enumeration Forms
- 6,701 duplicate entries (0.29%)
Following the revision, the Draft Electoral Roll now contains 21,69,243 electors, comprising:
- 10,53,069 male voters
- 11,16,169 female voters
- 5 third-gender voters
Dr. Tiwari also announced that the Election Commission has approved the rationalisation of polling stations across Meghalaya, increasing the total number from 3,551 to 3,637 to improve accessibility and voter convenience.
He emphasised that the published draft is not the final electoral roll and urged all eligible voters to verify their names and particulars before September 4. Claims and objections will be processed between August 5 and October 3, while the Final Electoral Roll will be published on October 7, 2026.
Electors whose names appear in the draft roll and have been successfully mapped with the SIR 2005 database are not required to take any further action.
However, those whose names appear in the draft roll but could not be mapped with the 2005 database will receive notices from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Booth Level Officer (BLO). They will be required to appear for verification with supporting documents such as birth certificates, passports, educational certificates, pension records, permanent residence certificates, government-issued identity cards and other documents prescribed by the Election Commission.
Dr. Tiwari clarified that electors who refused to accept the Enumeration Form have not lost their citizenship. Their names have only been excluded from the draft electoral roll. Eligible individuals may apply for inclusion by submitting Form-6, after which their applications will be verified as per the prescribed legal procedure.
He further stressed that the Special Intensive Revision is solely an electoral roll verification exercise and does not determine the citizenship status of any individual.
Appealing to political parties, traditional institutions, civil society organisations, media houses and the general public, Dr. Tiwari called for active participation during the claims and objections period to ensure Meghalaya’s electoral roll remains accurate, inclusive, transparent and error-free.
