The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rolled out 28 major initiatives over the past six months aimed at strengthening transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity in the electoral system. The reforms are built on six key pillars: engagement with stakeholders, strengthening and cleanup of electoral systems, enhanced use of technology, purification of electoral rolls, ease of voting, and capacity building.
The Commission has intensified its engagement with political stakeholders by holding more than 4,700 all-party meetings at various levels across the country, involving over 28,000 party representatives. In addition, 20 high-level interactions were held with the leadership of national and state parties.
In a bid to clean up electoral systems, the Commission has delisted hundreds of inactive registered unrecognised political parties, issued photo identity cards for Booth Level Officers to enhance transparency, and introduced new procedures for the verification of EVM microcontrollers. Legal and administrative frameworks have also been strengthened through national conferences and bilateral meetings with international election management bodies.
Technology-driven reforms have taken centre stage with the launch of ECINET, a one-stop digital platform integrating over 40 applications and portals for voters, officials, and political parties. Measures such as 100 percent webcasting at polling stations, real-time voter turnout updates, and mandatory VVPAT slip counts in case of mismatches have been introduced to further ensure accountability and fairness.
The Commission has also focused on ensuring the purity of electoral rolls. Special revisions were conducted in Bihar and ahead of by-elections in four states, while linkage with death registration databases is being implemented to automatically update voter lists. Duplicate EPIC numbers have been eliminated and new guidelines now ensure the delivery of voter ID cards within 15 days, with SMS updates provided to citizens at each stage.
Voter convenience has been prioritised through new facilities such as mobile phone deposit counters outside polling stations, reduced voter limits per polling station, and clearer voter information slips. Candidate booths can now also be set up just beyond 100 meters from polling stations to provide unofficial identity slips to electors when needed.
Capacity building has been another area of focus, with expanded training programmes at the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) covering more than 7,000 BLOs and supervisors. The remuneration of field and election officials has been significantly enhanced, alongside better provisions for refreshments and honorariums. Training has also been extended to Booth Level Agents of political parties, media and communication officers, and police officials to ensure better preparedness and coordination during elections.
The Commission has further strengthened its internal systems by introducing biometric attendance, migrating to e-Office, and relocating functions to IIIDEM for improved efficiency.