Team Goemkarponn
MARGAO: The Election Commission of India organised a regional conference on Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs), ECINET and the polling process at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, bringing together more than 1,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from across Goa.
The conference focused on strengthening voter awareness and promoting a transparent, accessible and technology-driven electoral process. Discussions covered electoral literacy, voter registration, polling procedures and digital voter services.
Technical sessions were also conducted on polling stations, polling agents, mock poll procedures, mock poll certificates and Form 17 Part II, which records the account of votes polled.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar said the record 93.7% voter turnout in West Bengal reflected growing public trust in the democratic process. He described BLOs as the backbone of the electoral system and interacted with them to understand their experiences, challenges and best practices in voter registration, corrections in electoral rolls, address changes and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Kumar also highlighted the importance of ECINET, the Election Commission’s digital platform that allows citizens to download electoral rolls and access various voter-related services.
Commending Goa’s performance during the Special Intensive Revision, Kumar said, “Goa has the best SIR in the country,” while appreciating the efforts of the state’s election machinery and BLOs in maintaining accurate and inclusive electoral rolls.
As part of the voter awareness initiative, a 2D animated film highlighting the election process, voter registration and citizen participation was screened during the programme.
The conference assumes significance ahead of the Goa Legislative Assembly Elections 2027, with accurate electoral rolls, enrolment of eligible voters, awareness among first-time voters and grassroots-level preparedness emerging as key priorities.
The programme was attended by Goa Chief Electoral Officer Dr Sanjay Goyal, IAS, Director General (Media) Ashish Goyal, Director General (IT) Seema Khanna, North Goa Collector Ankit Yadav, Kushawati Collector Gurudas Desai and South Goa Collector Egna Cleetus, along with officials of the Election Commission of India and BLOs from across the state.
