AIZAWL, 26 Nov: Churches in Mizoram held prayers to seek divine intervention to change the date of counting of votes for the state assembly polls held on 7 November, a church leader said on Sunday.
On Saturday, the Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute
Committee (MKHC), a conglomerate of 15 major churches, had urged churches to organise prayers during church service on Saturday night or Sunday to seek help from god, so that counting is not held on Sunday, which is a sacred day for the majority of Christians in the state, the leader said.
He said that prayers were held by some churches on Saturday night, while others did it on Sunday.
In its letter to the churches, the MKHC expressed disappointment over no sign of progress in the efforts to reschedule the date of counting of votes.
Citing that leaders of the NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC) will meet the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 28 November, the MKHC urged church members to hold prayers to ensure that the efforts of the leaders bear fruit.
Mizoram Presbyterian Church, the largest denomination in the state, also separately urged its members to hold prayers to ensure that the date of counting is changed.
Meanwhile, a five-member delegation of the NGOCC, currently camping in Delhi, will meet the chief election commissioner and other officials of the ECI on Tuesday to re-appeal and press its demand for a change of date for counting of votes.
The committee’s general secretary Malsawmliana said that the delegation visited the the ECI office on Friday, seeking an appointment.
He said that the ECI allowed them to meet the chief election commissioner and other officials on Tuesday at 3 pm.
The ECI has fixed 3 December as the day for counting of votes for five states – Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
However, political parties, civil society organisations, churches and a church-sponsored poll watchdog in Mizoram are opposing it and have sent numerous pleas to the ECI, urging it to reschedule the counting date because it falls on Sunday, a sacred day for Christians in the Christian-majority state.
Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly was held peacefully on 7 November. (PTI)
