AIZAWL: The Mizoram State Election Commission (SEC) has issued show cause notices to two ministers for allegedly breaching the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the upcoming village council (VC) and local council (LC) elections scheduled for February 12. A senior official confirmed this on Sunday.
State Election Commissioner H. Lalthlangliana announced that notices have been served on Public Works Department Minister Vanlalhlana and Sports Minister Lalnghinglova Hmar based on a complaint lodged by the Mizo National Front, the main opposition party. The two ministers have been directed to submit their explanations before Monday.
The MNF alleged that Vanlalhlana violated the MCC by virtually campaigning for Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) candidates from his ministerial office in Durtlang. A video of this act recently made rounds on social media, prompting the complaint.
The opposition party has also charged Hmar for having announced the development projects and government allocations in a meeting of ZPM candidates at his constituency on January 27.
According to the MNF, Hmar had made known the details of the over ₹45 crore infrastructure projects, such as a ₹25.35 crore market in Vaivakawn, to be built on a new inter-locality road between Dinthar and Tuikual South, 'Aizawl West Outlet' - an endeavor considered a bid to influence the electorate, and, thus violating MCC provisions.
In addition to this complaint against both the ministers, as of Sunday, Lalthlangliana says that no further complaints have been received by the SEC about any MCC violations.
Meanwhile, with preparations for VC and LC polls in full swing, a total of 6,829 candidates are vying for 544 village councils across nine districts minus the three autonomous district councils of Lawngtlai and Siaha. Moreover, 2,076 candidates are also in the fray for 111 local councils under the Aizawl Municipal Corporation and Lunglei Municipal Council.
Of the 6,942 candidates who had filed nominations for the VC elections, 11 nominations were rejected, and 102 candidates withdrew their applications before the deadline on January 27. For the LC elections, 2,084 nominations were filed, of which two were rejected and six candidates withdrew.
Simultaneous polling for both VC and LC elections will take place on 12th February, and vote counting will start at 7 PM or immediately after the polling is over. There are 2,416 VC seats inclusive of 613 women seats and 111 LCs under AMC and LMC that consist of 723 seats, out of which 195 are women's seats.
The total electorate for the VC elections is 4,37,708, which includes 2,22,098 female voters. In AMC, 87 LCs have a voter base of 2,44,726, while 24 LCs under LMC account for 41,206 voters. With election day fast approaching, all eyes are on the SEC's response to the ministers' explanations and any further developments regarding the MCC violations.
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