The Election Commission (EC) has published the updated final voter list ahead of the upcoming local government elections, putting the total number of registered voters at 128,777,643.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed disclosed the information to journalists at the Election Commission building on Monday (August 31).
According to the EC secretary, citizens who reached the age of 18 by July 31 have been included in the final voter list.
The final figure stands at 12 crore 87 lakh 77 thousand 643 voters, all of whom will be eligible to vote in the upcoming local government elections, subject to the applicable electoral rules.
The EC had earlier published a draft voter list on August 9. At that time, the commission reported that the number of voters had increased by 309,315, bringing the preliminary total to 128,632,555.
The commission had also said that if the election schedule were postponed, the voter registration period could be extended and newly eligible voters could be included through a supplementary list.
The final voter list was prepared following the procedures outlined in the Voter List Act, 2009.
After publication of the draft list, citizens were given opportunities to:
According to the EC's announced schedule, the draft list was published on August 9. Claims, objections and correction applications were accepted until August 24, while the applications were reviewed and resolved by August 27.
Decisions taken on the applications were incorporated into the voter database by August 28, paving the way for publication of the updated final voter list on August 31.
The Election Commission plans to announce the local government election schedule in September, with voting expected to begin from November.
The commission is reportedly considering holding elections to union parishads and municipalities first as part of the broader local government election process.
The publication of the final voter list marks a significant preparatory step toward the upcoming elections, as the EC moves ahead with its electoral roadmap.
