ECI introduces 28 reforms in six months to strengthen electoral process

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced that it has implemented 28 major reforms in the last six months to modernise and strengthen the electoral process, ensuring greater transparency, inclusivity, and efficiency.

The reforms are grouped under six key pillars: stakeholder engagement, electoral system cleanup, technology adoption, electoral roll purity, ease of voting, and capacity building.

As part of its outreach, election officials (EROs, DEOs, CEOs) conducted 4,719 all-party meetings, engaging over 28,000 political representatives, while the Commission itself held 20 high-level meetings with party leaders.

To clean up the electoral system, the ECI delisted 334 inactive registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) and identified 476 more for removal. Transparency measures include photo ID cards for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and mandatory verification of 5% of EVM microcontrollers post-results.

On the technology front, the ECI rolled out ECINET, a unified digital platform integrating 40+ apps for voters, officials, and parties. It also introduced 100% webcasting at polling stations, real-time voter turnout updates every two hours, and mandatory VVPAT slip verification in case of mismatches.

To ensure cleaner electoral rolls, Bihar underwent a special intensive revision, while rolls were updated ahead of by-elections in four states—marking the first such update in nearly two decades. Delivery of voter ID cards (EPICs) has been fast-tracked to 15 days with SMS alerts, and duplicate numbers have been eliminated.

For voter convenience, polling stations are now capped at 1,200 voters each, with mobile deposit facilities outside booths and improved voter slips. Candidate-set booths are permitted only beyond 100 metres from polling stations.

Capacity-building measures include doubling BLO remuneration, training 7,000+ officials at IIIDEM, and conducting dedicated training for police, media officers, party agents, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs).

With inputs from IANS