The commission meeting was held on September 26 at 3 pm. As per the decisions taken in the meeting, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the homes of such people and collect the documents and upload them on ECInet. After this the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will take a decision on the basis of the documents.
The Commission said that only in special circumstances, as per the decision of ERO, the hearing will be held and it will be conducted online on priority basis. If a hearing is required, the voter can authorize any adult member of his family on his behalf. The Commission has also decided to further strengthen the facilities for online hearing.
District Election Officers (DEOs) have been directed to set up adequate number of help desks or organize special camps as per the need. The benefit of these facilities will be made available to people living in night shelters, labourers, poor, homeless people and other needy people.
The Commission said that the declaration attached with Form-6 for SIR has been upheld by the Supreme Court. At the same time, for voter registration outside the SIR period, the form applicable under the Election Rules, 1960 will be used.
The Commission said that field officers have been given role-based access to the ECINet system in line with their statutory powers. A committee will be formed under the chairmanship of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) to review ECINET. An independent expert from IIT/IIIT will also be included in this.
This committee will re-examine whether ECINET is functioning in accordance with the provisions of the Acts and Rules and submit its report to the Commission.
The Commission said that several upgrades have already been made in the portal based on suggestions received from state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) over the last few months. If any additional flexibility is required by field officers further, the same will also be implemented. In future, new initiatives related to IT modules and portals will be placed for discussion in the Committee of Officers (COO) before the approval of the Commission.
In view of the request of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi, the Commission has extended the deadline for filing claims and objections to 30 October 2026. The period for disposal of notices and claims and objections has also been extended to 30 November 2026.
The Commission has decided that the agenda for all its meetings will be circulated in advance and minutes of the proceedings of the meetings will be released. Further, the Annual Performance Appraisal Report (AAPAR) of all officers will be completed by the prescribed deadline i.e. 31st December every year. It will be mandatory to obtain the approval of the Commission for foreign trips of officers.
The Commission said that SIR has already been completed in 20 states/UTs, including Bihar and West Bengal. Those whose names have been left out in the voter list during or after SIR can apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion of names under the continuous updating process. This also includes youth and first-time voters.
The Commission said that Chief Electoral Officers have been instructed to facilitate this process. CEO, DEO and ERO will immediately start a special campaign to include the names of these voters in the voter list.
The Commission said that the letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary was not related to any policy of the Commission or the IT Division. This letter was related to the functioning of an officer working on deputation in the Election Commission. According to the Commission, the work-distribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners. Also, DEC's role in overseeing the IT division was never really withdrawn.
The Commission said that in recent months it has taken several decisions including SIRs across the country. The order of SIR for all states and union territories starting from Bihar on June 24, 2025 was issued with the unanimous approval of the Commission. After this, the process of SIR was taken forward in West Bengal and 30 other states/union territories.
The Commission said that this order of SIR was upheld by the Supreme Court through its order dated May 27, 2026. The schedule of SIR for 12 States/UTs was released on 27 October 2025 and the schedule for 19 States/UTs on 14 May 2026 with the unanimous approval of the Commission. The commission said the final number of voters will be known only after the final publication in the remaining 12 states in the third phase.
The Commission said that the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa has directed the concerned BLOs to go door-to-door and collect the forms of the voters left out of the voter list.