Historic civic body polls commence in Nagaland after 20 years
Voting for the historic elections to 25 civic bodies in Nagaland began on Wednesday, marking the first time these polls have been conducted in two decades. The elections are being held for three municipalities and 22 town councils, an official from the Nagaland State Election Commission (SEC) said. Notably, this is also the first time that urban local body polls are being held with a 33% reservation for women.
Overcoming obstacles to conduct Nagaland's civic body polls
The government had previously attempted to hold elections for urban local bodies but faced objections from tribal bodies and civil society organizations against reservation for women and taxes on land and properties. These issues delayed the polls until the state government scrapped the taxes and convinced these groups to accept reservations for women, following a law enacted by Parliament and an order from the Supreme Court.
Polling details and security measures for Nagaland elections
The polls opened at 7:30am and will close at 4:00pm, with SEC officials reporting that polling has been peaceful so far. Over 2.23 lakh voters, including 1,13,521 women, are eligible to cast their votes to decide the fate of 523 candidates from 11 political parties. To facilitate people to exercise their franchise in large numbers, the state government had declared a general holiday on Wednesday. The votes will be counted on June 29.
Eastern Nagaland boycotts civic body polls
In a departure from previous practices, voting is being conducted through ballot papers in 420 polling stations instead of using EVMs. However, six districts in eastern Nagaland are not participating in the elections due to a poll boycott called by the Eastern Nagaland Peoples's Organisation (ENPO). The ENPO has been demanding a 'Frontier Nagaland Territory,' claiming that the region has been neglected for years.
