Arunachal to hold panchayat, municipal polls in December

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh State Election Commission has announced that the general elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions and Municipal Bodies in Itanagar and Pasighat will be conducted in December this year.

The state election commission, in a notification recently, directed district officials across the state to prepare for the election process and reserve seats for women in zilla parishad and gram panchayats, and municipal bodies.

It directed all districts and Itanagar district administration to issue notifications as per law by October 30.

Meanwhile, the process to determine constituencies reserved for women candidates in the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections in Changlang, Keyi Panyor and Kurung Kumey districts will be carried out through open and transparent draws of lots from October 28 and 29, officials said on Wednesday. In Changlang, the draw will be conducted on October 28.

Changlang deputy commissioner Vishal Sah, who is also the district election officer, has requested all additional deputy commissioners and representatives of all political parties to attend the lottery draw without fail.

In Keyi Panyor, the draw will be conducted on October 29 at 11 am in the conference hall of the deputy commissioner’s office, Yachuli. The exercise is being undertaken under Rule 5 and Rule 12 of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Delimitation of Constituencies and Reservation of Seats for Women) Rules, 2002, as amended up to 2019.

District Election Officer Shweta Nagarkoti Mehta said public representatives, officials, political party members, women’s organisations and accredited media have been invited to witness the process. All BDOs have been directed to disseminate the information widely and ensure the participation of Panchayat representatives.

Similarly, in Kurung Kumey district, the district election officer has notified that the draw of lots for reservation of ZP, GP and GPC seats will be held on October 28 at the DC’s conference hall, Koloriang. The process will cover 3-Lower Koloriang and 4-Upper Koloriang Zilla Parishad constituencies.

In Itanagar, the draw for reservation of seats in the Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) will be conducted on October 28 at 11 AM at the DK State Convention Centre, officials said.

The exercise is being carried out in accordance with Section 15 (2) of the Arunachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 2019, which mandates reservation of one-third of total seats for women belonging to the Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe.

The meeting will be attended by MLAs of Itanagar and Doimukh constituencies, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of IMC, corporators of all 20 wards, and representatives of major political parties.

The entire exercise is a time-bound matter, and reports will be submitted the same day to enable the issuance of the official notification by October 30, as per the directives of the State Election Commission.

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