GUWAHATI: The Assam Election Commission has announced the schedule for the state panchayat elections which will be held in two phases next month.
The first phase of the panchayat polls will be held in 16 districts on December 5 while the second phase will be held in 10 districts on December 9, 2018, sources of the Commission announced before the media here on Monday.
Polling will be held across 23, 505 booths from 7am to 3pm on the two dates announced. Of the total polling booths, 3,665 stations have been identified as “hyper sensitive”.
The date of counting of votes has been fixed as December 12, 2018.
The Commission further announced that the date for filing of nomination papers by the candidates for the first phase has been scheduled on November 15 and that for the second phase on November 19, 2018.
The last date of withdrawal of nominations by the candidates for the first phase is November 19 and the same for the second phase is November 22, 2018.
The panchayat elections will be held in 420 zilla parishads to elect 2,199 gaon panchayat presidents and 21,990 gaon panchayat members.
The 16 districts going to the panchayat polls in the first phase are Kamrup Metro, Kamrup Rural, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat, Majuli, Golaghat, Nagaon, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Sonitpur, Darrang and Morigaon.
The 10 districts going to the polls in the second phase include Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, South Salmara-Mankachar, Goalpara, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj and Hojai.
An electorate of 1, 56, 41, 456 will cast their votes in the polls, an increase of 21.49 per cent in regard to the number of voters from the previous panchayat elections.