Reviving democratic process

11/10/2020

Panchayat and Municipal by-elections should be conducted in free, fair, transparent, ethical, participative and COVID safe manner. By-elections can’t be indefinitely deferred as the Government has now decided to conduct by-polls on the analogy of Assembly elections being conducted in the country after observing all COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). By-elections to both the Local Bodies will be held shortly and all arrangements for them have been finalized including logistics and procurement of election material. Ballot boxes will be used for Panchayat by-polls while Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be utilized for the Municipal by-elections. Continuous updation of Panchayat electoral rolls from January 1, 2020 is under process with the aim that no eligible voter is left unregistered. As far the updation of Municipal electoral rolls is concerned, a Special summary revision is being conducted with the qualifying date as January 1, 2020.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has said that by-elections to both the Local Bodies will be held shortly and all arrangements for them have been finalized including logistics and procurement of election material. While the BJP, Congress and Nationalist Panthers Party remained committed to participation in by-elections though two of them flagged serious issues like security of candidates and Coronavirus pandemic, the PDP sought release of its president Mehbooba Mufti first while the National Conference said it hasn’t received any communication from the Government on conduct of the polls so far. CEO briefed representatives of parties who attended the meeting through video conferencing that by-elections to both Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) vacancies will be held across Jammu and Kashmir shortly and most of the preparations for them have been finalized.
As per the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department notification, the maximum vacancies of Sarpanchs for which elections will be held were 157 in Budgam district of Kashmir and minimum six in Samba district of Jammu region. Posts of Sarpanchs in other districts on which elections will be held include Pulwama (152), Anantnag (137), Baramulla (149), Kulgam (132), Bandipora (50), Ganderbal (42), Kupwara (32), Shopian (75) and Srinagar (9), all in the Kashmir valley. Vacancies of Sarpanchs in Jammu region include Udhampur (17), Reasi (10), Ramban (13), Doda (18), Jammu (17), Kathua (22), Kishtwar (23), Poonch (11) and Rajouri (16).

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