TV
The State Election Commission (SEC), Odisha, announced on Wednesday to put on hold the upcoming panchayat by-elections as the monsoon is about to set in.
Initially slated for June 23, the bypolls, which aimed to fill 1,131 vacant positions, have been deferred in light of the impending rains.
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When fresh date is to be announced?
According to the Secretary of the Election Commission, new poll dates will be determined once the monsoon conditions subside in the State, ensuring a safe and smooth conduct of the electoral process.
“Election Commission had previously issued a notification for bypolls to vacant positions of 1,043 Ward Members, 40 Samiti Members, and 43 Sarpanchs, including five Zilla Parishad Members,” State Election Commission Secretary Santosh Kumar Dash said.
“However, a few hours after the notification, we got feedback from several district officials, who are supposed to conduct the elections, and aspirants as well that Monsoon is to arrive early this year. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are expected in June. They appealed to reconsider the announced date and defer it accordingly,” Secretary Dash stated.
“After getting confirmation from the IMD (India Meteorology Department) on impending rain and thunderstorm, the Commission decided to put the date on hold for the time being. A fresh date will be announced later on,” the Secretary added in a presser.
Earlier in the day, the State Election Commission-Odisha had issued a series of notifications announcing the schedule for by-elections to various rural local body posts, including Zilla Parishad Members, Panchayat Samiti Members, Sarpanchs, and Ward Members.
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Worth mentioning, these by-elections have been necessitated due to vacancies arising from death, resignation, disqualification, or de-reservation of reserved seats due to unavailability of eligible candidates.
The nomination process was to begin on May 26 and was to continue through May 31, excluding government holidays.
