The Meghalaya Election Department has taken significant steps to ensure the accuracy and transparency of its electoral roll, including the removal of 385 duplicate entries.
Chief Electoral Officer Dr. BDR Tiwari stated, “Names of over 8,936 voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls due to death, 7,775 due to shifting, and 385 due to duplicate entries.” He further confirmed that 31,372 out of 32,500 forms submitted for corrections were accepted.
As of January 6, Meghalaya’s total number of registered voters stands at 22,69,512, reflecting an increase of 52,412 voters compared to last year’s total of 22,40,499. Dr. Tiwari highlighted the demographic breakdown of voters, noting that 11,18,907 are male, 11,50,599 are female, and six identify as transgender.
He added, “Additionally, there are 11,960 electors categorized as persons with disabilities, while 10,398 voters are senior citizens aged over 85. The number of young voters aged between 18 and 19 stands at 72,941.”
The number of polling stations has also been increased to 3,551 to accommodate the growing electorate. Dr. Tiwari mentioned that there are 3,764 service voters, comprising 3,673 males and 91 females, while the Elector-Participation (EP) ratio as of January 6 is 645, and the electors’ gender ratio is 1,028.
Among Meghalaya’s districts, East Khasi Hills has the highest number of voters at 3,20,553, while South West Khasi Hills has the lowest, with 38,742 voters. These updates mark a crucial effort by the Election Department to enhance the integrity and efficiency of the electoral process in the state.