ULB Elections To Be Held In 4 Phases, EVMs To Be Used: CEO
SRINAGAR Urban local bodies elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in four phases starting October 8, state election commission said Saturday.
With the announcement, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the state.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Shaleen Kabra said, “We shall be starting the local bodies elections for municipal bodies first and then the panchayat elections.
“The municipal elections will be four phased and it will be held on party-basis,” he told reporters here.
He said for the first time electronic voting machines (EVMs) will be used in the local bodies polls while migrant voters will be able to vote through postal ballot.
Kabra said the notification for the first phase will be issued on September 18.
“The last date for filing nominations for the phase will be September 25 while the date of withdrawal of nominations will be September 28. The date of poll for the first phase will be October 8,” the CEO said.
He said the notification for the second phase will be issued on September 20 and the last date for making nominations for the phase will be September 27.
“The date of withdrawal of nominations will be October 1 and the date of poll for the second phase will be October 10,” Kabra said.
For the third phase, the chief electoral officer said, notifications will be issued on September 22 and the last date for filling nominations for the phase will be September 29.
“The date of withdrawal of nominations will be October 3 and the date of poll for the third phase will be October 13,” he said.
He said for the last phase, the notification will be issued on September 24 and candidates can submit their nominations till October 1.
The candidature can be withdrawn by October 5 and the voting will take place on October 16.
The poll hours for all the phases would be from 7 am to 2 pm, he said, adding the date of counting for all the phases will be October 20.
“With the announcement of this schedule, the Model Code of Conduct comes into place and I expect the candidates and political parties to follow it fully,” he said.
Kabra said the state has 79 municipal bodies, including the two corporations for the twin cities of Srinagar and Jammu.
“There are 1,145 wards in these 79 bodies which have an electoral strength of 16,9,721,” he said.
The CEO said among the 1,145 wards, 90 have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and 38 for Scheduled Tribes, which includes 31 and 13 wards for SC and ST women respectively.
In addition, 322 wards have been reserved for women belonging to open category.
The CEO said the announcement for the schedule of panchayat elections will be done separately.
Poll Code Comes Into Force
With the announcement of schedule for conduct of Urban Local Bodies Elections in the State, Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect and the same shall apply in all Municipal Bodies going to polls as also for the candidates, the political parties and the Government.
The election to ULB will be held in four phases, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Jammu and Kashmir Shaleen Kabra announced here on Saturday.
Kabra said the elections will be held through EVMs and suitable number of Polling Stations have been notified for each Ward of the Municipal Corporations/ Councils/ Committees. He said General Observers shall be deployed, one for each Municipal Body, to ensure free and fair elections. The Observers will be asked to keep a close watch on every stage of the electoral process, he said.
He said notifications with regard to reservation of wards for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Women as per provisions of the Act and Rules governing Municipal Elections have been already issued. Out of 1145 Wards, 90 Wards have been reserved for Scheduled Castes and 38 Wards have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes which includes 31 and 13 wards reserved for SC and ST Women respectively. In addition to 322 wards have been reserved for Women belonging to Open category, he said and added that in order to facilitate the Kashmiri Migrants, a scheme to enable them to vote through Postal ballot is being provided in the Urban Local Bodies.
Kabra said individual notifications for each Phase of polls will be issued on 18th, 20th, 22nd and 24th September respectively. He said the last date for filing nominations for the four phases will be 25th, 27th, 29th September and 1st October respectively.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |