Security concerns taken into consideration: K K Sharma
Srinagar, Nov 04 : J&K State Election Commissioner K K Sharma today announced the elections for the first ever District Development Council (DDC) in eight phases from November 28.
The elections for the vacant seats of sarpanchs and panchs and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will also be held simultaneously with the DDC Polls, he said.
Sharma during a press conference said first ever elections for the DDC’s will be held from November 28 in phases which will conclude on December 22.
“With the DDC polls, elections for the vacant sarpanch and panchayat seats will also take place simultaneously,” Sharma told reporters.
He added that polling will take place through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) while postal ballots will be available for Covid-19 patients in isolation, senior citizens and physically unwell patients.
“Electoral rolls used in Sarpanch and Panch elections that have been updated on January 1, 2020, will be used for the DDC polls. With the announcement of DDC polls, the model code of conduct is in vogue from today onwards. The first formal notification for the first phase of elections will be issued tomorrow,” Sharma said.
He said delimitation has been done for the constituencies and 280 DDCs have been identified across the J&K UT.
The term of the DDC will be for five years,” Sharma said. “West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) will also be entitled to exercise their right to vote for the first time.”
“Each DDC in J & K has 14 constituencies,” Sharma said. He said that while conducting the elections, Covid-19 protocol will be followed in spirit.”
Sharma said that polls will also be held subsequently for 228 vacant seats of ULBs.
He also said a proper security mechanism will remain in place after taking the feedback from various security agencies and“all concerns have been taken into consideration.”
He said that the expenditure limit for the DDC polls per candidate is Rs 5 lakh, one lakh for Sarpanch seat and Rs 50,000 for Panch seat.
