Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan Orders Urgent Drive to Include All Eligible Voters in Electoral Rolls

Thiruvananthapuram: The Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced that the government has decided to take urgent action to ensure that all eligible citizens are included in the voters’ list. District Collectors have been directed to provide necessary documents to those lacking proper records on an expedited basis, free of charge. Any fees associated with obtaining documents will be waived during this period.

To facilitate the process, help centres have been set up at the local level, and hearing centres will be established in all required locations to avoid inconvenience to the public. These centres will be equipped with volunteers and qualified officials, and facilities for online form submission will be available. The IT Department has been instructed to reduce fees charged at Akshaya Centres.

The Chief Minister also directed that appointments be made within two days at polling stations with vacant booth-level officer positions. Vacancies arising due to retirement in ERO, AERO, and Additional AERO posts must be filled immediately, with leave prior to retirement (LPR) granted only to replacements. Transfers of officials will be temporarily halted, and leave cannot be granted without prior approval.

Awareness campaigns will be conducted to ensure that all eligible citizens left out of the voters’ list are included. In cases of delay in obtaining certificates through K-Smart, the Panchayat will provide the documents directly. K-Smart help desks will also be set up at camps for public convenience.

The Pinarayi Vijayan emphasised that ensuring voting rights for all eligible citizens is the government’s top priority and urged those left out of the voters’ list to make full use of the village-level help desks.