Guwahati: Mizoram’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Garima Gupta, on Saturday dismissed allegations that foreign nationals had been included in the state’s electoral rolls, stating that a comprehensive verification exercise found no evidence to support such claims.
Her remarks came as the draft electoral roll for 2026 was published across all 40 Assembly constituencies following a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted between May 30 and June 28.
The clarification follows a complaint by the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), one of the state’s most influential student organisations, which alleged an unprecedented 121 per cent increase in the number of voters in Chakma-dominated areas, particularly in southern Mizoram, over the past two decades. The organisation had urged the Election Commission to undertake stringent verification and remove suspected foreign nationals from the electoral rolls during the revision exercise.
Addressing a press conference in Aizawl, Gupta said that all such complaints were thoroughly investigated through district election authorities during the SIR process.
“After detailed verification, we have not found any instance of a foreign national being included in the electoral rolls. The draft rolls also do not indicate any abnormal or disproportionate rise in the number of voters,” she said.
According to the CEO, the revision involved multiple layers of scrutiny by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), District Election Officers (DEOs), as well as Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by recognised political parties. Every elector was physically verified through house-to-house visits to ensure that only eligible citizens were retained in the rolls.
A total of 8,75,068 enumeration forms were distributed during the exercise, of which 8,28,906 forms were successfully collected and digitised. Gupta said Mizoram became the first among the 16 states undertaking the third phase of the SIR to achieve 100 per cent digitisation of all collected forms.
The remaining 46,163 forms (5.28 per cent) were not collected, resulting in the deletion of those names from the draft electoral roll. Of these, 21,295 electors (2.43 per cent) were found to have died, 13,978 (1.60 per cent) had permanently shifted to other states or abroad, 8,333 (0.95 per cent) were untraceable despite repeated visits by election officials, and 2,248 (0.26 per cent) were already enrolled in other constituencies.
Additionally, 309 voters, whose names appeared in the 2025 electoral rolls, declined to be enrolled during the revision on religious grounds, Gupta said.
The draft electoral roll released on Saturday records 8,28,906 electors, including 4,29,881 women voters, across Mizoram’s 11 districts. The state also has 4,185 service voters, of whom 94 are women.
The CEO said the draft roll has been prepared with July 1, 2026, as the qualifying date.
Among the districts, Aizawl has the highest number of electors at more than 2.72 lakh, followed by Lunglei with 98,808 voters and Lawngtlai with 90,699. Hnahthial, created in 2019, has the lowest electorate with 15,443 voters.
Gupta announced that the period for filing claims and objections will remain open from July 4 to August 4, while the disposal of claims will continue until September 2. The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on September 6.
Clarifying the “untraceable” category, she explained that Booth Level Officers were required to visit each residence at least three times before categorising an elector as absent. Officials also verified the individual’s status with neighbours and local residents before taking a final decision.
She further clarified that electors whose enumeration forms were not collected would not automatically lose their voting rights. Such individuals can submit fresh applications or file claims during the month-long claims and objections period for inclusion in the final electoral roll.
Describing the Special Intensive Revision as one of the smoothest electoral roll revision exercises conducted in the country, Gupta credited election officials, political parties, civil society organisations, community leaders and the media for ensuring its successful completion.
During the exercise, 52 new polling stations were established while one polling station was abolished, increasing the total number of polling stations in Mizoram to 1,352.