Guwahati, Dec. 20: Prodded by the chief election commissioner, the Assam election department is turning cyber-savvy.

For the first time in the state?s electoral history, the voters? list will be posted on the Internet. ?Yes, the final electoral rolls ? to be published on February 9, 2006 ? can be accessed on our website. We are putting this up in consultation with the EC (Election Commission). The NIC (National Informatics Centre) will be the implementing authority,? a senior official said.

The draft electoral rolls were published today, just a week after chief election commissioner B.B. Tandon visited the state to make an assessment of infrastructure and discuss poll-related issues with political leaders and bureaucrats. He is understood to have told the election department that going online was necessary to hold free and fair elections in Assam.

The election department is planning a new website because the earlier one has become defunct. ?It will offer swift access to anyone who wants to know about his/her serial number and polling station. It will also benefit polling officials and facilitate speedy updates of the rolls if complaints against inclusion/deletion are lodged,? the official said.

The draft voters? list has pegged the strength of the Assam electorate at 1,73,61,700 and the number of voters of doubtful origins at 1,59,500.

Kamrup deputy commissioner Ganesh Kalita said while releasing the draft electoral rolls for Kamrup rural and metropolitan districts that the Election Commission?s directive would be adhered to after receiving a set of guidelines on how to go about the process.

A source said the Election Commission was determined to stop electoral malpractice in Assam, just the way it did in Bihar. ?The CEC recently ticked off the government for the delay in deleting the names of voters against whom non-bailable warrants have been pending execution for over six months. In Bihar, the process was completed within three months.?

The election department will accept claims and objections to the draft rolls till January 4 and complete the process of verification by January 21.

Kalita said an awareness drive would be launched at the panchayat and municipal levels to motivate and educate voters to file complaints/objections against any faulty deletion/inclusion of names in the rolls.

?We would like to see all sections of the people getting involved in this exercise. We plan to hold awareness meetings on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1,? the deputy commissioner said.

The process of intensive revision of the rolls began in July 2004 and continued till August 2005, during which officials conducted house-to-house enumeration.

Dispur leads the population count in the eight constituencies of Kamrup with 2,93,184 voters, followed by Gauhati West (2,17,783), Gauhati East (1,91,455), Boko (1,63,081) and Jalukbari (1,55,090).