Bhubaneswar: Preparations for the next general election have begun with Odisha's chief electoral officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar on Tuesday announcing that the final list of voters would be published on January 4.

Kumar, however, refused to speculate on the possibility of an early poll. "According to the rules, the election is held after the final voter list is published. But, this is a highly technical issue. The Election Commission of India can take a call on this. I am not competent to talk about it."

The general election in Odisha is due by May 2019, but there is speculation that it may be held earlier in the event of the NDA government deciding to prepone the polls.

Kumar said: "The draft of voter list will be published on September 1. The special summery revision of the list will begin from September 1 and continue till October 31. Later, the voters can appeal and lodge their complaints, which will be heard by sub-collectors. If the voter is not satisfied, he or she can appeal before the CEO. The final voter list will be published on January 4."

He said: "Now, the focus of the Election Commission is to bring more youths into the electoral list. The cut-off line for a voter to be included is January 1, 2019."

The CEO said: "The youths can directly upload their names on the national voters service portal. We will issue directions to all the educational institutions to popularise the portal and also give pertinent information about it on their display boards. We are also planning to hold camps to create awareness among the voters on the issue."

He said: "We are planning to make it an accessible election. Special provisions will be made for the differently-abled, so that they can vote smoothly. Ramp and wheel chairs will be used and NSS volunteers and guides would be there to guide the differently-abled to exercise their franchise."

Kumar said that for the first time, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial machines would be used in the election. Nearly 96,000 such machines would be used in Odisha.

Officials said the number of booths were likely to increase by 1,500 to 2,000. Officials will make spot verification to assess the condition of the EVMs.

The government has appointed two additional CEOs, a joint CEO and two deputy CEOs to expedite work relating to election preparedness.