Arunachal to hold panchayat, municipal elections in December: State poll panel

Itanagar, Oct 22 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh State Election Commission (APSEC) has said elections to panchayati raj institutions and municipal bodies in Itanagar and Pasighat will be held in December.

In a recent notification, the state election commission directed officials to prepare for the poll process and reserve seats for women in zilla parishads, gram panchayats and municipal bodies.

The APSEC instructed officials to issue poll notifications by October 30.

Officials said the process to determine seats reserved for women candidates in the upcoming panchayat elections in Changlang, Itanagar, Keyi Panyor and Kurung Kumey districts will be carried out through open draws of lots on October 28 and 29.

In Changlang, the draw will be held on October 28.

Deputy Commissioner Vishal Sah, who is also the district election officer, has urged additional deputy commissioners and representatives of political parties to attend the draw of lots.

In Itanagar, the draw for reservation of seats in the civic body will be conducted at the DK State Convention Centre at 11 am on October 28, officials said.

The exercise is being carried out in accordance with Section 15 (2) of the Arunachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 2019, which mandates the reservation of one-third of the total seats for women belonging to the Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe.

The meeting will be attended by MLAs of 13-Itanagar and 14-Doimukh constituencies, the mayor and deputy mayor of Itanagar municipal corporation, corporators of all 20 wards, and representatives of major political parties.

In Keyi Panyor, the draw will be conducted on October 29 at 11 am in the conference hall of the deputy commissioner's office, Yachuli.

The exercise is being undertaken under Rule 5 and Rule 12 of the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Delimitation of Constituencies and Reservation of Seats for Women) Rules, 2002, as amended up to 2019.

District Election Officer Shweta Nagarkoti Mehta said public representatives, officials, political party members, women's organisations and accredited media have been invited to witness the process. All BDOs have been directed to disseminate the information widely and ensure the participation of panchayat representatives.

Similarly, in Kurung Kumey district, the district election officer has notified that the draw of lots for reservation of ZP, GP and GPC seats will be held on October 28 at the DC's conference hall, Koloriang. The process will cover 3-Lower Koloriang and 4-Upper Koloriang Zilla Parishad constituencies.

The entire exercise is a time-bound matter, and reports will be submitted the same day to enable the issuance of the official notification by October 30, as per the directives of the AP State Election Commission.

Security personnel will be deployed at the venue, and political parties, ZPMs, GPMs and GPCs have been asked to participate in the process. PTI CORR MNB