KSU apprises CEO of immigrants

SHILLONG: With elections round the corner, Khasi Students’ Union has raised concern before chief electoral officer, F.R Kharkongor, over enrollment of dubious voters in the state’s electoral rolls.
Pointing at loopholes in the enrollment process, the general secretary of the union, Donald Thabah apprised Kharkongor about the presence of immigrants.
The CEO informed them that his office maintains software to check dubious voters. In this context, he took up the issue of political parties who were alleged to have used illegal immigrants as their vote bank by identifying them as genuine.
“We asked him (CEO) whether political parties have the power to decide who is genuine or not. The CEO informed us that political parties have no role in identifying voters as genuine or not but to educate the people on the procedure/law on the enrollment of people,” he said.
Thabah also expressed disagreement with Kharkongor as the office of the CEO based the electorate on the 2011 census, which according to him, included illegal immigrants, people who get transfers and tenants who are otherwise not genuine citizens of the state.