YUPIA, 2 Dec: Papum Pare district is well-prepared for conducting the panchayat elections, with the completion of a series of training programmes for the presiding officers, polling personnel, and counting teams across the district.
The training programmes were held under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner Dani Rikang, supported by master trainers BK Pandey and Dr Manoj Biswakarma.
On 27 November, the first session of the training was held at the conference hall of the Kimin ADC under the supervision of the ADC Ocean Gao. This was followed by the second training programme at the conference hall of the Balijan ADC on 28 November, led by ADC Takar Rava.
The third phase of training took place at the Sagalee GHSS auditorium on 29 November, under the guidance of ADC Higio Yame.
The final phase of the district-wide training was organised at the Hakum Happa Hall here on Tuesday for the teams representing the jurisdictions of Batt Ganga, Borum, and Doimukh.
The training modules included step-by-step briefings, live demonstrations, mock sessions, and hands-on exercises to ensure that all election teams are well-acquainted with procedural protocols and operational responsibilities.
District Election Officer Vishakha Yadav emphasised that such capacity-building initiatives are essential to uphold the integrity of the democratic process, and to ensure efficient management during polling and counting.
Contesting candidates briefed on MCC guidelines
Meanwhile, with the model code of conduct (MCC) now enforced for the panchayati raj (PR) and Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) elections on 15 December, a briefing session for contesting candidates was conducted in Pasighat in East Siang district on Tuesday by the East Siang district election officer and the municipal election officer (MEO).
Two MCC briefing sessions were held at the DC’s conference hall to ensure clarity and compliance vis-à-vis election expenditure and campaign guidelines.
The briefing session for the PR candidates was attended by RO Pebika Lego and Bosing I & II RO Oter Gao.
Addressing the session organised for the PR candidates of Bosing I & II and Bogong I & II ZP/GP constituencies, RO Pebika Lego urged all candidates to extend full cooperation and adhere strictly to the MCC guidelines. She emphasised that such compliance is essential for ensuring a smooth, peaceful, free, and fair election that upholds the democratic principle of a level playing field.
Lego further reminded the candidates to follow the election campaign timeline, and to strictly observe all campaign-related rules and restrictions. She also appealed for full cooperation with polling officials to facilitate smooth conduct of the PR elections across the district.
Nodal officer (election expenditure) Tigul Megu in both the sessions delivered presentations for the candidates on key aspects of election expenditure monitoring mechanism. The presentation covered expenditure ceilings, categories of permissible and non-permissible expenses, maintenance of daily expenditure accounts, required submission formats, and step-by-step procedures.
Earlier, in the first session, a briefing session was conducted for contesting candidates and their election agents for the PMC elections, which was attended by election observer for PMC Sibo Pasing, Municipal Returning Officer (MRO) Tatling Pertin and nodal officer Yamo Tamut. The briefing session helped in familiarising the candidates with important poll procedures, expenditure guidelines, prescribed registers, mandatory forms, and other statutory instructions.
Key highlights included an overview of poll-day procedures, expenditure monitoring mechanisms, issuance of essential forms and registers, and campaign regulations.
Similar sessions are being conducted across the district to ensure that all contesting candidates are well-informed about the election protocols. (DIPROs)
