ITANAGAR : Governor Lt Gen K T Parnaik (Retd) on Thursday urged all eligible citizens of the state to actively participate in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll, saying public participation is vital to ensuring free, fair and transparent elections and strengthening democracy.

Parnaik made the appeal after he and his wife, Anagha Parnaik, filled up their enumeration forms at Lok Bhavan here, as part of the ongoing revision exercise.

He said electoral rolls are not merely administrative records but the foundation of the democratic process, an official statement said.

Every eligible citizen, he added, has a responsibility to ensure that electoral records remain accurate and up to date.

The enumeration process was conducted by Papum Pare deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer (DEO) Lobsang Tsering and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Itanagar Assembly Constituency Dani Rikang, under the directions of the Election Commission of India.

Appealing to the people of the state, Parnaik said the Special Intensive Revision, which began across the state on June 15, will continue till July 14.

He expressed confidence that the people of the state would extend their full cooperation to make the exercise successful and further strengthen participatory democracy.

The governor also urged residents to cooperate with Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during their house-to-house visits by providing the required information and documents.

He made a special appeal to young and first-time voters to verify their details and ensure their names are correctly included in the electoral roll.

Meanwhile, the deputy commissioner said that the draft electoral roll will be published on July 21, after which claims and objections, if any, can be submitted as per the prescribed procedure.