Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 15 Nov: Panchayat and municipal elections will be held simultaneously in Arunachal Pradesh on 15 December, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Saturday.
A total of 8.3 lakh voters across the state are eligible to exercise their franchise in the polls.
State Election Commissioner Rinchin Tashi said the poll notification will be issued on 17 November, while the last date for filing of nominations is 24 November.
The scrutiny of papers will take place on 26 November, and the last date for withdrawal of nominations is 29 November.
The counting of votes is scheduled for 20 December.
Speaking to reporters, Tashi said this will be the 12th general election for panchayat bodies since the NEFA Panchayat Regulation of 1967 and the third municipal election for Itanagar and Pasighat, the only two civic bodies in the state.
Arunachal currently has 27 zilla parishads with 245 constituencies and 2,103 gram panchayats comprising 8,181 constituencies.
The Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) has 20 wards, while the Pasighat Municipal Council (PMC) has eight wards.
A total of 8,31,648 voters are eligible to vote – 7,59,210 for the panchayat and 72,438 for municipal elections.
“Women voters outnumber men in the electorate for the panchayat polls,” Tashi added.
Upper Subansiri district has the highest number of panchayat voters at 58,764, while Dibang Valley has the lowest at 3,854.
In the civic polls, Itanagar’s Ward No 19 has the highest number of voters (5,106), whereas Pasighat’s Ward No 6 has the lowest (812).
The SEC will set up 2,171 polling stations for panchayat elections, 67 for the IMC and 12 for the PMC polls.
EVMs will be used in the municipal elections, while panchayat polls will be conducted using ballot boxes, the commissioner said.
Over 40,000 personnel, including 15,000 polling staffers, will be deployed, he added.
To ensure smooth conduct of the elections, the commission will appoint 29 general observers – one for each district and the two municipal bodies. Special security measures will be taken in sensitive districts such as Tirap, Changlang and Longding, Tashi said.
With the announcement of the poll schedule, the model code of conduct has come into force across the state, Tashi said, and urged political parties and all stakeholders to cooperate to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections. (With PTI input)
