Polling ambiguity looms over Manipuri refugees sheltered in Mizoram

Aizawl/Imphal: Uncertainty persists over voting by the refugees, who took shelter in Mizoram after the ethnic violence in neighbouring Manipur. Around 10,000 Kuki-Zomi men, women and children fled to Mizoram after ethnic violence tore apart the Manipur state on March 3 last year.

“No arrangements have been made so far to facilitate the voters from among the 10,000 refugees, now sheltered in different districts of Mizoram. The elections in two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur and the lone seat in Mizoram would be held in the first and second phases on April 19 and April 26 respectively”, election officials from both the states informed.

“The Election Commission (EC) has decided to set up special polling stations in different relief camps in Manipur, to facilitate voters living in the camp. But, no proposal about voting by the refugees has been submitted from the CEO's office in Mizoram to the EC so far,” added Pradeep Kumar Jha, Manipur’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). The Election Commission’s plan to set up special polling stations in relief camps is limited to the state’s territorial jurisdiction only, the CEO said in Imphal.

Election officials in Aizawl also informed that the Manipur government is currently operating around 320 relief camps with more than 59,000 men, women and children staying in the state’s facilities. All these 10,000 Manipuri refugees are currently based out of Mizoram’s innumerable relief camps and rented homes. Many are even staying with their relatives. Aizawl district accommodates the highest number of around 4,500 refugees followed by 2,700 in Kolasib district, 1,300 in Saitual district, and the remaining in other districts.

There were 37,000 Reang refugees as well, who fled to Tripura due to ethnic troubles in Mizoram in 1997. They were allowed to cast their vote through postal ballots in the state’s northern-most relief camps. However, in the year 2018, special polling stations were set up at a village in Mizoram along the inter-state borders with Tripura after some civil society organizations and youth groups barred the Reang migrants to cast notes in their state’s relief camps. (IANS)

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