[ Amar Sangno ]
ITANAGAR, 8 Dec: Hundreds of government employees, particularly police personnel, who are on inter-district postings, have voiced concern over their inability to exercise their franchise during the upcoming panchayat polls.
It is reported that the absence of postal ballot (PB) provision for the local body polls has left many fearing disenfranchisement amid logistical hurdles that could prevent them from returning to their home districts.
“I applied for an election duty certificate (EDC) in Raga, Kamle district, so now I can cast my vote on the 9th or the 10th. Technically, I had to go to Raga physically. But since all kinds of leave are banned, I can’t leave my place of duty,” said an aggrieved police personnel on condition of anonymity.
“Likewise, many of my staffers who are deployed as personal security officers and in pilot escort duty can’t take leave and go for EDC at their respective districts. In such a case, PB plays a crucial role in facilitating the voting process, as mentioned in the Election Commission of India’s website,” he added.
The SEC office has confirmed that numerous representations and queries are pouring in, seeking the commission’s intervention to facilitate government officers and police personnel who are posted outside their districts in exercising their adult franchise.
The SEC on Monday stated that the commission has “no objection if such inter-district voter on election duty (VED) and election duty certificate facility can be mutually arranged by the respective deputy commissioners-cum-district election officers within the given time limit, without hampering the duties assigned to such officers in the respective districts.”
Earlier, on 4 December, the SEC had reiterated that there is no provision of postal ballot in the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, unlike the general elections and the state Assembly elections.
The SEC categorically stated that for those who are on election duty in one district but their names are enrolled in their native districts “the arrangement will not be practically possible at this stage as there would be involvement of mass movement of employees across the state on to and fro journeys.”
“They are already under different phases of training and other inevitable election duties in the districts where they are posted. So, it would thereby adversely affect the execution process of conduct of elections smoothly if they are allowed to proceed for voting in home districts,” it reiterated.
“Despite constraints, as per the provisions in the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, the State Election Commission is trying its best to facilitate maximum VED and EDC,” said State Election Commissioner Rinchin Tashi.
The state is bracing for the local body polls on 15 December. More than 40,000 personnel, including 15,000 polling personnel, have been engaged for the polling. The total electorate for the PRI polls is 7,59,210, while for the municipal bodies it is 72,438. The overall electorate is 8,31,648.
