Voter list and ID card

The existing voter list was prepared back in 2000. This has to undergo a sweeping change, since a huge number of new voters are now waiting to be included in it. Furthermore, there were credible reports of flaws and omissions which also need to be addressed.

The list has to be accurate and fully inclusive of all the voters there are, so that the conduct of the election would be above reproach. The question of unimpeachable authenticity is relevant as allegations of leaving the names of people of a certain community or area out of the list were made quite a few times in the past, allegedly amounting to their disenfranchisement.

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The most important task, in our opinion, is to introduce the ID card. The benefits to be had from it are multiple. It will bring discipline to the electoral process and render the elections so much smoother and devoid of fake voting. Moreover, it will make development planning for all other sectors of national life efficient, not to forget the value of ID card from the security point of view in today's murky situations.

As for electronic voting, it has been adopted in all the developed countries as a safety-valve against human error and manipulation. This is perhaps doubly important in our context as allegations of intervention and rigging are often heard against any ruling party at a given time.

It is the constitutional duty of the EC to prepare an authentic voter list and to do all that is required to conduct credible polls such as introducing voter ID card and adopting an electronic voting system. The EC must now get on with the tasks keeping in view the lead-time they have for the next general election.