Amidst the prospect of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission has made a big announcement. According to this, now non-Kashmiri citizens will also be able to vote there.
Not only this, the personnel of the security forces deployed for security in the valley can also include their names in the voter list. For the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 from Kashmir, a special amendment is being done in the voter list. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar said that this time the names of about 25 lakh new voters are expected to be included in the voter list.
Know according to the new rule, who will be able to vote in Kashmir and what will be the rules?
Employees, students, laborers and any non-local living in Jammu and Kashmir can get their name included in the voter list. Local residence certificate is also not required for inclusion of name in the voter list. The personnel of the security forces posted in Jammu and Kashmir can also vote by including their names in the voter list.
After the abrogation of Article 370, many people who were not listed as voters are now eligible to vote. Provision has been made in the revised registration forms for linking Aadhaar numbers with voter list data, with the aim of establishing the identity of voters and authentication of entries in the electoral rolls. The Election Commission will issue new voter ID cards which will have new security features.
Kashmiri Pandit migrants are registered as voters in their home constituencies. For registration of new voters, special camps are being organized for them at various places including Delhi, Jammu and Udhampur and all of them will be given voter ID cards.
Rohingya Muslims taking refuge in Jammu and Kashmir will not be included in the voter list.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hridesh Kumar told that it does not matter how long someone is living in Jammu and Kashmir. The final decision on whether the non-local is living in Jammu and Kashmir will be taken by the ERO. Renters can also vote here.
Apart from this, anyone who is ordinarily residing can also avail the opportunity to be enlisted as a voter in J&K as per the provisions of the Representation of the People Act.
The process of including names in the voter list will start from September 15 and will continue till October 25. Claims and objections will be settled by November 10. There is an exercise to complete the revision process of voter list by November 25. There are about 98 lakh people above the age of 18 years in Jammu and Kashmir while as per the final voter list, the total number of voters listed is 76 lakh.
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