Manipur election officials seek guidance on verifying displaced voters amid violence

Election officials in Manipur are grappling with the complex task of revising electoral rolls amidst ongoing ethnic violence, prompting the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to seek guidance from the Election Commission of India (ECI). The core challenge lies in verifying the identities and addresses of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have fled their homes due to the conflict.

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The enumeration process for all non IDPs across the state is on but for IDPs, it is on hold. We have distributed the forms to the citizens but not for IDPs. The CEO’s office has told us that ECI will send a communication on how it is to be done.

Approximately 60,000 individuals from both the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities have been displaced. These communities are now residing in separate strongholds, with security forces monitoring the routes connecting the hills and valley districts to prevent further violence. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which involves door-to-door verification, is underway for non-displaced residents but is on hold for IDPs.

Officials have highlighted significant procedural hurdles. The ECI's mandatory requirement to photograph voters' homes for upload is impossible in many areas where entire settlements have been destroyed by bombings and arson. Furthermore, many displaced individuals lack essential documents, which were lost or destroyed during their flight. Special Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) are being nominated to assist with these cases, aiming to retrieve documents and verify voter information online.

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These special AEROs will help in getting all documents online. People left their documents behind when they had to flee their homes. Getting their documents is an easy task and it is being done. All the record are online. Out of the nearly 60000 people displaced, there are around 18000 voters, the main issue is verifying that the voters indeed lived at the registered address.

The process is further complicated by the need to verify that voters still reside at their registered addresses, a task made difficult by the destruction of homes and the creation of "ghost colonies." The ongoing ethnic clashes, including those between Naga and Kuki communities, add another layer of complexity to ensuring a fair and accurate electoral process for all affected citizens.

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In the ECI App, the commission has made it mandatory to take a picture of the house and upload it. In Manipur that is not possible because there are ghost colonies in both the valley and hill districts. At many places even buildings as tall as 2-3 and 4 storeys were bombed and razed. No building exists at that place.