Chief Electoral Officer says SIR enumeration to end tonight in Kerala

Chief Electoral Officer Ratan U Kelkar said 24.81 lakh voters fall under the 'untraceable' category, which includes 6.49 lakh dead voters, 6.89 lakh untraceable voters, 8.21 lakh shifted voters, 1.34 lakh duplicate entries and 1.86 lakh under other categories.

Thiruvananthapuram: The SIR of the electoral roll's enumeration phase in Kerala will be completed by midnight on Thursday, Chief Electoral Officer Ratan U Kelkar said.

Addressing the media here, Kelkar said the draft electoral roll will be published on December 23.

He said 24.81 lakh voters fall under the "untraceable" category, which includes 6.49 lakh dead voters, 6.89 lakh untraceable voters, 8.21 lakh shifted voters, 1.34 lakh duplicate entries and 1.86 lakh under other categories.

Kelkar said the list of untraceable voters has been distributed among Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and political parties.

If any voter in this list is traced before midnight, their name will be included in the draft roll.

Overseas electors who want to add their names can apply using Form 6, he said, adding that objections can be raised during the one-month scrutiny period, during which hearings will also be conducted.

Kelkar said 2.92 lakh people have already applied using Form 6, and these applications will be processed before the draft roll is published.

He said the copies of the draft roll will be forwarded to political parties, government offices and local self-government institutions.

He said preparatory activities for the publication of the draft electoral roll will be conducted for five days starting Friday.

After the draft electoral roll is published, a special drive will be conducted to include new voters, he said, adding that anyone aggrieved by the decisions of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) can file an appeal.

The final electoral roll will be published on February 21, 2026, Kelkar said.

He said the number of voters per polling station will be capped at 1,700, and more polling stations will be added to avoid long queues.

Kelkar said fake news was being circulated claiming that the current list was final, and added that the matter has been reported to the cyber police.

“Participation in democracy is everyone’s duty,” he added.