THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ahead of the statewide rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll on November 4, Chief Electoral Officer-Kerala Rathan U Kelkar has clarified that the initial phase of the process till December 4 will involve only signing and returning of enumeration forms either by the electors who figure in voters’ list as on October 27, 2025, or their relatives.
The official made the clarification in the wake of confusion among a section of people about the verification documents to be produced during SIR. In an interaction with the TNIE, Kelkar said booth level officers (BLOs) will visit the houses of all electors from November 4 to December 4. “The electors, or their relatives present at home, can either sign and hand back the filled enumeration forms or carry out the process online within this period,” he said.
No verification documents are needed at this juncture, he added. Elaborating on the enumeration forms, Kelkar said it will have pre-printed information such as the electors’ name and address, serial/part number, QR code and the photograph as in the electoral roll. The elector will have the option of affixing the latest photo in the enumeration form and also of providing other basic particulars.
The form will have two columns -- one to fill particulars such as EPIC number of the elector as given in the 2002 SIR electoral roll (if applicable). It will also have the column to fill similar particulars of the relative who figured in the 2002 roll. “The BLOs will assist the elector in filling these particulars. However, if such details are not available, the form will still be valid, provided it has the elector’s or the relative’s signature,” Kelkar said.
“The whole idea of the first phase of SIR is to remove electors who have fallen in the Absentee, Shifted or Dead (ASD) categories,” the official explained. “All electors in the 2025 electoral roll, whose enumeration forms have been signed and returned will automatically figure in the draft voters’ list to be brought out on December 9,” he added.
The verification of particulars at the level of electoral registration officers (EROs) will begin after the publication of the draft voters list on December 9. “It is only at this juncture that verifying documents would be required and that too if the details in the enumeration forms relating to the 2002 SIR rolls are either not available or do not match the database,” Kelkar said. Such electors will be informed by the poll panel to provide the required documents, based on the three categories they would fall into.
Categories of electors
For those born before 1987, any of the 13 documents establishing their date of birth and place of birth would suffice. Those born between 1987 and 2004 will also have to provide similar documents of one of their parents. For electors born after 2004, the documents establishing the date and place of birth of both parents would be required. If born outside India, the elector can attach the proof of birth registration issued by the Indian mission abroad. If the elector has acquired Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation, a certificate of registration of citizenship would be required.
Meanwhile, the poll panel will start a massive campaign from Saturday to make people aware of the entire SIR exercise. The CEO said he would visit select tribal settlements to get a first-hand account of how efficiently the process would be conducted on the ground.
SIR - Enumeration phase (Nov 4 to Dec 4)
Elector in 2025 roll to fill basic details, sign and return form
Enumeration can be done online for out of station electors
No verification documents are required at enumeration stage
Elector valid for draft voters’ list even if only signature is provided
