look news india
New Delhi. Amidst the recent controversies and attacks from the opposition regarding internal functioning and administrative decisions, the Election Commission of India (ECI) held a very important plenary meeting on Saturday. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and both the Election Commissioners—Dr. In this high-level meeting held in the presence of Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the Commission took several historic decisions regarding its transparency, internal discipline and voter services. Now, in a major change in the functioning of the Commission’s meetings, it has been decided that the agenda of any meeting will be released in advance and officers will have to compulsorily take permission from the Commission before going on any official foreign trip.
In the recent controversies, questions were being raised regarding the impartiality of the Commission, division of work and the procedures of Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In response to this, the Election Commission has not only tightened the internal system, setting a new example of transparency, but has also taken major steps to save the common voters from visiting government offices.
Till now, there has been an allegation regarding the functioning of the Commission that decisions are taken suddenly without prior notice. To completely eliminate this notion, the Election Commission has made a rule that the agenda of all future meetings of the Commission will be prepared and circulated in advance.
Along with this, the minutes of the meetings will also be released, so that there is complete clarity about the discussions and decisions of the Commission. The Commission believes that making the functioning public and transparent will further strengthen the confidence of political parties, stakeholders and common citizens of the country in the electoral system.
The second major and strict decision taken during the meeting is related to the discipline and foreign travel of Election Commission officials:
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Commission’s approval before traveling abroad: The Commission has made a rule that no official associated with the Election Commission will be able to go on any official trip abroad without the prior and explicit permission of the Commission.
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Strict compliance with the instructions of the Commissioners: Strict compliance of all administrative instructions issued to the officers by the Chief Election Commissioner and both the Election Commissioners will be ensured.
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Annual Performance Report (APAR): A strict deadline has been set for completing the Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) of all officers, which will be mandatory to be completed by 31st December every year.
The Commission has given a very humanitarian and relief decision regarding the voters who have received notices due to ‘unmapped status’ or technical glitches during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process:
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BLO will collect documents from door to door: Voters will no longer have to visit ERO or AERO offices. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will personally visit the homes of the notice voters, collect the required documents and upload them directly on the ECINet portal.
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Online hearing only in special cases: If ERO considers it necessary to hear in a particular case, the same will also be compulsorily conducted online. In the absence of the voter, any adult member of his family will be able to attend that hearing.
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Help Desk for the poor and homeless: All District Election Officers (DEOs) have been instructed to set up special camps and help desks for people living in night shelters, labourers, poor and homeless citizens so that no eligible citizen is deprived of the franchise.
On the request of the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of the respective states, the Election Commission has also extended the deadline for correcting discrepancies in the voter list and filing claims and objections:
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Delhi: The deadline for filing claims and objections has been extended to October 30, 2026, while the date of their final disposal has been fixed for November 30, 2026.
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Maharashtra: For Maharashtra, the last date for filing claims and objections has been fixed as 12 October 2026 and the last date for their resolution has been fixed as 10 November 2026.
The Election Commission clarified that a technical review of its flagship portal ‘ECINet’ will be conducted for strict compliance with laws and rules. For this, an independent committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC), which will include technical experts from IIT and Triple IT (IIIT). From now on, any new IT-related project will be implemented only after extensive discussion in the Committee of Officers (COO) and formal approval of the Commission.
Recently, while clarifying the controversy over the letter written to the Cabinet Secretary, the Commission clarified that the letter was not related to any policy of the Commission or its IT Division, but was only a matter related to the functioning of an officer on deputation. The Commission also reiterated that the decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across the country on June 24, 2025 was taken unanimously by the Full Bench, which has also been fully upheld by the Supreme Court in its order dated May 27, 2026.