Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar has praised Goa’s electoral machinery, describing the state’s performance in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls as the best in the country.
Kumar was speaking at a regional conference on Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs), ECINET and the polling process held at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on September 2. The conference, organised by the Election Commission of India, brought together more than 1,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from across Goa.
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The programme focused on strengthening voter awareness and improving the accessibility, transparency and technology-driven delivery of electoral services. Discussions covered voter registration, electoral literacy, polling procedures and digital voter services.
Technical sessions were also conducted on polling stations, the role of polling agents, mock poll procedures, mock poll certificates and Form 17 Part II, which records the account of votes polled.
Addressing the BLOs, Kumar said they form the backbone of the electoral system and interacted with them to understand their experiences and challenges in areas such as voter registration, corrections to electoral rolls, changes of address and the SIR exercise.
He also highlighted the role of ECINET, the Election Commission’s digital platform that allows citizens to access electoral rolls and various voter-related services.
While commending Goa’s performance during the SIR, Kumar said, “Goa has the best SIR in the country,” and credited the state’s election officials and BLOs for their efforts towards maintaining accurate and inclusive electoral rolls.
As part of the voter awareness programme, a 2D animated film explaining the election process, voter registration and citizen participation was screened for the participants.
The conference assumes added significance ahead of the Goa Legislative Assembly elections in 2027, with the accuracy of electoral rolls, enrolment of eligible voters, awareness among first-time voters and grassroots preparedness among the key priorities for the Election Commission.
The event was attended by Goa Chief Electoral Officer Dr Sanjay Goyal, IAS, Director General (Media) Ashish Goyal, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna, North Goa Collector Ankit Yadav, Kushawati Collector Gurudas Desai and South Goa Collector Egna Cleetus, besides officials of the Election Commission of India and Booth Level Officers from across the state.
