EC Rejects Opposition’s Voter Fraud Allegations, Cites Missed ‘Claims And Objections’ Window

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday dismissed allegations of voter fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, stating that the Opposition had missed the proper window to raise objections regarding the electoral rolls.

In its press release, the poll body emphasized that the correct stage to flag errors was during the "Claims and Objections" period, which takes place ahead of every election.

"Recently, some political parties and individuals are raising issues about errors in Electoral Rolls, including those prepared in the past," the Commission said. "The appropriate time to raise any issue with the Electoral Rolls would have been during the Claims and Objections period of that phase. That is precisely why Electoral Rolls are shared with all political parties and candidates. Had these concerns been raised through the proper channels at the right time, the concerned SDM/EROs could have corrected genuine mistakes before elections," it added.

The Commission explained that after the publication of draft electoral rolls, both digital and physical copies are circulated among political parties and also made available on the ECI website. Electors and parties are then given a full one-month period to file claims and objections before the final rolls are published. Once finalized, copies are again provided to all recognized parties and uploaded online.

Reaffirming its commitment to transparency, the ECI stressed that electoral roll preparation always follows established law, rules, and guidelines. The body also pointed out that "some political parties" and their booth-level agents (BLAs) had failed to properly review the rolls and flag errors in time.

"ECI continues to welcome the scrutiny of Electoral Rolls by Political Parties and any Elector. It will help SDMs/EROs remove errors and further purify the Electoral Rolls, which has always been the objective of the Commission," the statement concluded.