Handbook for Electoral Registration Officers - Election Commission ...

the claims and objections as generally a large number of claims and objections arereceived towards the closing days. All the claims and objections received should bedisposed of before the date fixed for the purpose.36. The ERO/AERO shall hold a summary enquiry into every claim or objection inrespect of which a notice has been given and shall record his decision thereon. At thehearing, claimant, or as the case may be, objector and the person objected to and anyother person, who, in the opinion of ERO, is likely to be of assistance to him, shall beentitled to appear and to be heard. The ERO has the power to require any claimant,objector or person objected to, to appear in person before him. He has also the power(under sub-rule (3) of Rule 20 of RER 1960) to require that the evidence tendered by anyperson shall be given on oath and to administer oath for the purpose. It is pertinent tomention that during hearing the applicant/objector can take assistance of an advocate forpresenting his case before the ERO.37. The ERO should record not only his decision in each case but also brief reasonsfor the decision.38. The gist of the orders passed by the ERO on the claims and objection preferred tohim should be entered just below the entries in the lists of claims and objections inrespective Forms 9, 10, 11 and 11A so that these forms will be self-contained.39. For general information, the ERO should also display on the notice board, the listof applications accepted or rejected under all categories (Form 6, 6A, 7, 8 and 8A)Communication of orders of Electoral Registration Officer to the applicants40. Every applicant should be intimated of the decision of the ERO. Further, theCommission has directed that for the purpose of reckoning the time period for filingappeals against the decision of the ERO, the date on which the ERO dispatches theintimation to the applicant will be treated as the crucial date. The intimation letter ofaction taken should be dispatched to the applicant within twenty four hours from the dateof order of the ERO. The relevant portion given in Form 6, 7, 8 and 8A forcommunicating the order of the ERO can be folded and stapled and posted to the applicanton the address given by her/him in the said portion. The communication can also be sent tothe applicant through the Booth Level Officer (BLO). The mobile technology should beused for communication with the applicants and electors to the extent possible. For thepurpose, a provision has been made in Forms 6, 7, 8 and 8A to capture the cell phonenumber, if any, of the applicant The applicants should be encouraged to give their cellphone number. Cell phone numbers of already enrolled electors can be collected throughthe BLOs. The e-details table in the elector database should also be modified to include afield for storing the cell phone number of the electors. The order of the ERO may also becommunicated to the applicants by sending an SMS at his registered cell phone number.Once cell phone numbers of electors have been collected, SMS based communication withthem can be used for many other purposes, such as electors may be informed of the rollrevision schedule before every revision by SMS. Similarly electors can be informed of theplace and time of polling at the time of elections.45