The State Election Commission has assured the political parties that steps will be taken to ensure that names of voters are listed in the wards where they reside.
The SEC has decided to ask the election authority, GHMC commissioner and deputy municipal commissioners, to ensure that the names of voters along with their family members with voting right will be placed in the same ward. Instructions will be issued to make sure that electors residing in one ward are not made to cast their vote in another ward.
State Election Commissioner C. Parthasarathy has assured the political parties that their objections/suggestions will be kept in mind in the preparation of ward-wise voters lists and delimitation of wards. He was speaking with the representatives of political parties as part of preparation for the ensuing elections to the GHMC.
The political parties, including the Congress, the BJP and others, requested the commission to conduct elections after preparing ward-wise voters lists in a fool-proof manner. Mr. Parthasarathy said steps were being initiated to ensure conduct of the polls in a transparent manner and the political parties and their candidates should cooperate with the commission in this regard.
The meeting was convened to discuss ward-wise voter lists, polling stations, model code of conduct and election expenditure by the candidates. The term of the present GHMC would end on February 10 next year and the commission had therefore initiated steps to conduct polls to elect the new body before that.
Draft electoral rolls of all the 150 wards had been published on November 7 and the final list of electors would be released on Friday after addressing the objections/clarifications received in this regard. The returning officers would release draft list of polling stations on Friday and the final list would be published on November 21 after examining the objections and suggestions.
The model code of conduct would come into force from the day of notification of the election. Political parties and their candidates should observe restraint and not indulge in personal criticism of other parties’ candidates. The contesting candidates should be residents of the GHMC area and the reservations of 2016 would continue without change.
