Photo electoral rolls to be used for 2009 pools: CEC

New Delhi, Oct 21 : Photo electoral rolls will be used all over the country, except in the north eastern states, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said.

Addressing the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, Gopalaswami said that though the process of issuing electoral photo identity cards started in 1995, 100 per cent success has never been achieved for several reasons.

He said a list of missing voters was also being prepared in each polling station to ensure the eligible persons did not lose their voting right.

The CEC said multi-level checking of electoral rolls was being undertaken to compare the 18-plus population as per census data with the number of registered voters.

The next general election would see the use of electronic voting machines across the country for the first time, said the CEC, he said, adding that postal voting for all personnel deployed for election duties would also be considered.

Gopalaswami said preparation of fool-proof electoral rolls is essential for eliminating bogus voting in elections.

Gopalaswami further said that a new electoral roll management system would soon be put in place in metropolitans, to tackle the high intra-city and inter-city migration of voters.

Recently, the Election Commission (EC) announced the dates for Assembly polls in six states - Delhi, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.

The polling in Delhi and Mizoram will be held on November 29 and in Madhya Pradesh on November 25. In Chhattisgarh, polling will be held in two phases on November 14 and 20 while polling will take place on December 4 in Rajasthan.

Elections in Jammu and Kashmir would be held in seven-phases beginning on November 17.

ANI