SHILLONG: With the disbanding of the ANVC and ANVC-B scheduled on December 15, the stage is now set for the State Cabinet to fix the date for election to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) which is likely to be held sometime in February next year.
Commissioner and Secretary, Political Department, Jopthiaw Lyngdoh on Friday said that the State Cabinet will decide the date for the GHADC election.
He informed that a draft has been prepared for the election to the GHADC and it will be placed before the Cabinet for its consideration.
Earlier, District Council Affairs Minister H.D.R. Lyngdoh had said that the election process for the GHADC will be over by February 17, the date on which the extended term of the Council comes to an end.
Election is scheduled be held in all the existing 29 seats in the Autonomous District Council. The State Government will have to go ahead with the election in the GHADC pending the amendment of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution for increasing of the number seats in the Council as indicated in the Agreed Text For Settlement signed by the Central and State governments with the ANVC and ANVC-B.
The State cabinet had, in January, extended the tenure of the GHADC by six months to enable the Union Government to complete the peace process which was an aftermath of the tripartite ceasefire with the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC) and followed it up with another six-month extension to the GHADC on August 1.