The hearing is held to verify the indicative documents to determine the eligibility of the individual as a voter and to confirm the place of residence prior to the last SIR held in 2002. | Photo credit: THULASI KAKKAT
Hearings were held in Ernakulam for more than 50,000 people to regain their voting rights as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls.
By Wednesday (January 14, 2025) evening, a total of 51,279 hearings had been held across the district’s 14 constituencies, nine days after the process began on January 6.
A total of 4,71,541 people in the district need to be given notice of the meeting. Out of this, notices have been generated for 2,06,306, sources said. In many cases, one family member appeared at the hearing on behalf of other members who were also served with notices.
The maximum number of hearings was held in Thripunithura constituency (5,919). It is followed by Kunnathunad and Thrikkakara where 5,303 and 5,287 hearings were held. Perumbavoor (4,457), Ernakulam (4,268), Kochi (4,190) and Piravom (4,030) are among the constituencies where the process has gained momentum.
Kothamangalam is at the bottom of the list, with only 1,074 hearings held till Wednesday. “Almost all the people who attended the hearing and produced the required identity documents were found eligible to be included in the revised electoral roll,” said a district official involved in the exercise.
Those placed on the “uncharted” list after the SIR enumeration stage are invited to a hearing. Although they were included in the draft voters’ list after the enumeration, they were not included in the 2002 core list as no link could be found linking the two lists to verify their identity and location.
Thripunithura, Thrikkakara, Ernakulam and Kochi are among the constituencies with higher number of unmapped voters who have to go through the hearing process.
The hearing is held to verify indicative documents to determine an individual’s eligibility as a voter and to confirm residency prior to the last SIR conducted in 2002. The notification (hearing and verification) phase will end on February 14 and the final list is scheduled to be published on February 21.
Published – 14 Jan 2026 22:23 IST
