The Opposition has renewed its criticism of the Election Commission after a report highlighted the exclusion of 97 Goa voters from the final electoral roll. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) had reportedly examined their documents and found them eligible for inclusion following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). However, their names did not appear in the final roll published on February 21. The controversy centres on the ECINet system, which reportedly did not provide officials with a facility to reverse earlier deletion decisions. The Indian Express reported that Goa’s Chief Electoral Officer sent eight communications within seven days seeking a rollback facility for the affected voters.
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Goa Opposition Questions Electoral Roll Process
The report has triggered a fresh political dispute, with Congress leaders questioning the Election Commission’s handling of the electoral-roll process. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh cited the findings while demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He alleged that excessive centralisation of the electoral-roll system could restrict the authority of officials working at the constituency level. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also described the reported exclusion as a serious issue involving citizens’ voting rights. These statements represent the Opposition’s political allegations and demands, while the reported technical and administrative issues remain subject to official clarification.
The controversy reportedly began after Goa’s EROs reviewed cases involving voters flagged for what the Election Commission calls “logical discrepancies.” Following a Supreme Court-directed process, affected voters received an opportunity to submit documents and raise objections. Goa officials reportedly examined 649 cases, and EROs found 97 voters eligible for inclusion in the final electoral roll. However, the existing ECINet setup allegedly prevented them from reversing the earlier deletion entries. The Goa Chief Electoral Officer’s office then repeatedly requested the Election Commission’s IT division to activate the required rollback facility.
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ECINet System Becomes Focus of Dispute
According to The Indian Express, Goa officials sent multiple requests between February 11 and February 17 seeking the technical facility. The report said the Commission’s Deputy Election Commissioner later instructed the IT division to ensure that the system did not block corrective action. Despite those communications, officials reportedly could not restore the 97 names before the final electoral roll was published. The Indian Express subsequently checked the names and reported that they remained absent from the final roll. Goa Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Goel also said that the cases had been brought to the Election Commission’s attention and indicated that the system needed a mechanism for EROs to reinclude eligible voters.
The Goa episode has also emerged amid wider questions about the Election Commission’s internal functioning and the centralisation of electoral-roll software. A separate Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions concerning voter registration, deletions and access to electoral-roll systems. The Election Commission has disputed the interpretation of these reports and stated that differences of opinion can occur among commissioners. It has also maintained that decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were taken unanimously. The Goa controversy therefore continues to raise questions about how electoral officials, digital systems and final voter lists interact during the revision process.
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