ECINet Row: EC Clarifies Commissioners’ Letters to Cabinet Secretary, Orders IIT Expert Review of Portal

In a bid to address concerns surrounding internal friction and data oversight, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered an expert review of its digital voter-management platform, ECINet. Following an exhaustive full-commission meeting at Nirvachan Sadan chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the poll panel clarified the context behind letters sent by the two commissioners to Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan. The commission stated that the communication pertained to the functioning of an officer on deputation rather than any policy division or institutional disagreement over technology infrastructure.

Full Commission Meet Clarifies Letters to Cabinet Secretary

Setting the record straight following reports regarding dissent within the poll body, the ECI stated that the letters addressed to the Cabinet Secretary by Sandhu and Joshi did not touch upon policy matters of the commission or its IT division. The poll body clarified that the communication concerned work-redistribution orders issued by an officer on deputation to the ECI.

According to the official statement, the controversial redistribution orders were never actually operationalized following instructions from the two commissioners, and oversight over the IT wing by the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner (DEC) remained uninterrupted. The ECI reiterated that foundational decisions—including the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) initiated across states and Union Territories—were finalized with the unanimous approval of the three-member commission and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court of India.

External IIT/IIIT Expert Panel to Audit ECINet Platform

To safeguard institutional transparency and address concerns regarding the centralization of voter records, the commission announced a high-level review mechanism for ECINet:

• A dedicated committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and featuring an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT will review the platform to verify strict compliance with statutory election acts and registration rules.

• Field personnel—including Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), District Election Officers (DEOs), and Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs)—will continue exercising role-based access through individual credentials.

• Further operational flexibility will be integrated based on feedback from State CEOs, and all forthcoming digital modules and portals must be vetted by the Committee of Officers (COO) before final commission clearance.

Relief for Electors: Doorstep Verification and Deadline Extensions

The poll panel also introduced several procedural modifications to streamline voter verification and alleviate ground-level concerns:

• Doorstep Document Collection: For electors who received notices regarding unmapped or logical discrepancies during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision, Booth Level Officers will visit their residences directly to collect documents and upload them onto ECINet for review by the ERO, alongside expanding facilities for online hearings.

• Timeline Extensions: Responding to requests from regional election authorities, the deadline for filing claims and objections in Delhi has been extended to October 30, 2026 (with disposal extended through November 30, 2026). In Maharashtra, the submission window has been extended to October 12, 2026, with disposals running until November 10, 2026.

• Meeting Transparency: The commission mandated that agendas for all future internal meetings be circulated in advance and formal minutes be documented to ensure administrative consensus.