The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday directed Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to transfer officers associated with election work who are posted in their home districts or have served in the same district for three years or more, ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
The terms of the five state Assemblies are due to end between March 13, 2027, in Manipur and May 22, 2027, in Uttar Pradesh. The state governments have also been instructed to ensure that transferred officers are not posted to their home districts. The directive covers a wide range of administrative and election-related officials, including electoral registration officers (EROs), additional district magistrates (ADMs), sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs), tehsildars, block development officers, divisional commissioners and municipal commissioners. Officers associated with election work will be required to submit a declaration within two days of the last date for filing nominations. The declaration must state that they are not close relatives of any contesting candidate and have no criminal cases pending against them. The Election Commission has yet to announce the final schedule for the Assembly elections.
District election officers (DEOs), returning officers (ROs), assistant returning officers (AROs) and other designated officials cannot be posted back to the constituency or district where they served during the previous Assembly election or any by-election held since then.
