While asserting that the State Election Commission (SEC) has postponed the local body elections under exceptional circumstances, its Commissioner N. Ramesh Kumar said on Sunday that the Model Conduct of Conduct (MCC) would continue to be in force during the period and the process that had happened so far remained intact.
The situation would be reviewed after six weeks, and then the schedule of the elections to the village panchayats would be released.
Transfer of officials
The commission recommended the transfer of the Collectors of Guntur and Chittoor districts; the Superintendents of Police of Guntur Rural and Tirupati Urban; the DSPs of Palamaner and Srikalahasti; and the CIs of Punganur, Rayadurgam and Tadipatri, besides the suspension of Macherla CI.
Addressing the media here, Mr. Ramesh Kumar said the commission had taken a serious view of the “intimidation” of and “physical attacks” on the candidates during the filing of nominations for the elections to teh ZPTCs and MPTCs, and the “inaction” of the polling officers and staff.
‘Cannot ignore virus threat’
Mr. Ramesh Kumar said the opinion of all the stakeholders about the prevalence of COVID-19 was taken into account after a detailed assessment was made at the highest level. Though the elections were important, the threat of coronavirus could not be overlooked, he said.
The arrangements were by-and-large completed, but SEC did not have any option but to put the elections on hold because of the virus scare, in exercise of its discretionary powers conferred on it by the Constitution and the Panchayat Raj Act, he added.
The Commissioner further said that the “unanimous candidates” would be considered elected, and the notifications for the ZPTCs and the urban local bodies, which had already been issued, would be revised.
“The commission has the responsibility to ensure free and transparent elections, and it will take necessary action,” he stated, adding that a large number of complaints were being lodged about the conduct of the village volunteers and they needed to be controlled by the government officers concerned.
