ECI Trains Over 1,600 Returning Officers, AROs for Bihar Assembly Elections

In preparation for the upcoming Bihar Legislative Assembly elections and bye-elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted a comprehensive training programme for Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) on October 9 and 10, 2025, including an online assessment and doubt-clearing session focused on the nomination process and other critical election procedures.

The two-day training marked an important step in ensuring flawless, transparent, and efficient election management in Bihar, a state with one of India’s largest and most complex electoral landscapes.

Training Overview: Preparing Officials for Every Stage of Election

A total of 243 Returning Officers and 1,418 Assistant Returning Officers participated virtually in the session, which was designed to equip field officials with the latest knowledge, procedural clarity, and digital tools to conduct elections in compliance with the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and Election Commission rules.

The Returning Officers are designated under Section 21, read with Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, for every constituency. They play a pivotal role in ensuring that the elections are free, fair, and legally sound, acting under the superintendence, control, and discipline of the Election Commission throughout the electoral process.

The ECI emphasized that comprehensive training and capacity-building exercises are crucial for maintaining uniformity, consistency, and integrity in the conduct of elections across all 243 Assembly constituencies in Bihar.

Detailed Sessions: From Nomination to Counting

The training modules covered a broad spectrum of topics essential to the conduct of elections. Sessions included:

• Nomination Process: Verification procedures, scrutiny of documents, and timelines.

• Qualification and Disqualification of Candidates: Legal criteria under the Representation of the People Act.

• Model Code of Conduct (MCC): Ensuring compliance and addressing violations.

• Withdrawal of Candidature: Protocols and deadlines.

• Symbol Allotment: Ensuring accuracy and transparency in assigning election symbols.

• Poll-Day Arrangements: Booth setup, staffing, security, and communication plans.

• Counting and Result Compilation: Safeguarding accuracy and transparency during the vote count.

The ECI’s National Level Master Trainers led the sessions and interacted with participants to address doubts and share best practices. A live doubt-clearing mechanism was incorporated to help ROs and AROs understand and implement guidelines uniformly.

“Our Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers are the backbone of the election machinery. Continuous training and real-time guidance are essential to ensure error-free, credible elections,” an ECI official noted.

Introducing the ECINET Presiding Officer Module

In addition to the RO-ARO sessions, the Election Commission also conducted a special online briefing for Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), District Election Officers (DEOs), and ROs on the Presiding Officer module of ECINET, a key component of the ECI’s digital transformation initiative.

The ECINET platform, currently under progressive implementation, allows Presiding Officers to upload voter turnout data every two hours and at the close of polling through a mobile application. The system will automatically compile data at the Returning Officer level, providing near real-time voting trends to the Election Commission.

This innovation is expected to significantly enhance transparency and efficiency, minimizing manual reporting delays and enabling timely public communication of voter turnout figures.

“The ECINET module will provide a seamless digital interface between field officers and the Commission, ensuring quick, accurate, and secure transmission of data,” said an ECI spokesperson.

A trial run of the Presiding Officers’ application will be organized across all polling stations in Bihar before the actual polling day to ensure the system’s robustness and field readiness.

Continuous Capacity Building Across States and UTs

The ECI clarified that this national-level training is supplementary to the State-level programmes being organized by the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in their respective States and Union Territories.

These trainings form part of the ECI’s broader commitment to institutionalized capacity building, ensuring that every officer involved in the electoral process—from returning officers to presiding officials—is trained in the latest legal, procedural, and technological aspects of election management.

The Commission has adopted a “training cascade” model, where National Master Trainers train CEOs and DEOs, who in turn mentor field-level officials, ensuring consistency in understanding and implementation of election laws and procedures.

Ensuring Free, Fair, and Technologically Advanced Elections

The Election Commission reiterated its resolve to leverage digital innovation and procedural rigor to enhance transparency, accountability, and voter confidence in the electoral process.

Through structured training programmes, the ECI seeks to minimize human error, strengthen preparedness, and ensure that every official upholds the Commission’s mandate of conducting free, fair, and inclusive elections.

“Well-trained election officials are central to democratic credibility. Our goal is to empower every officer with the tools, knowledge, and confidence to manage every phase of the electoral process with precision and integrity,” the Commission said in a statement.

As Bihar gears up for the Assembly elections, the Election Commission’s proactive training initiatives and technology-driven systems like ECINET signal a determined push toward modern, data-driven, and transparent election management — setting a national benchmark for operational excellence.