SHILLONG: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Frederick Roy Kharkongor said on Sunday 22 out of the 60 Assembly constituencies are expenditure sensitive.
Expenditure sensitive is where there is a chance of violation of the ECI mandated expenditure ceiling of Rs 70 lakh by respective party or candidate.
Kharkongor said pockets of Shillong parliamentary constituency, such as parts of East Jaintia Hills and Ri Bhoi, and Tura, such as parts of West Garo Hills, are expenditure sensitive.
“Of the 3,167 polling stations, 704 are vulnerable, 249 critical, 68 both vulnerable and critical and 2,146 normal. Eighty-six polling booths are in areas bordering Bangladesh and 171 on the inter-state border,” the CEO informed.
Routes to 47 polling stations on Assam border are contiguous.
The number of vulnerable and critical polling stations “can be dynamic” in the current situation but will change before the polls.
Kharkongor told reporters here that election officers were alerted about the model code of conduct after the date for the Lok Sabha elections and Selsella by-poll was announced on Sunday.
With the poll notification on March 18, filing of nominations will start and continue till March 25. Papers will be scrutinised on March 26 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 28. The counting for both the Lok Sabha polls and the by-poll will be on May 23. “In terms of poll preparations, we are in a fairly healthy mode. We are poll ready,” Kharkongor said.
The CEO said as per the final rolls published on January 17, the number of electors is 18,92,716 – 11,82,725 in Shillong and 7,09,991 in Tura.
He informed that the number of first-time voters is set to increase due to special camps being set up and continuous update till the last date before the polls.
“The EP ratio (the elector-population ratio) above 18 years is 98.34 per cent which is fairly healthy and robust. The number of electors in the last LS elections of 2014 was 15,65,820 and the number of polling stations has gone up by 84 as in the last Assembly elections there were 3,083 polling stations,” he said.
There will be 13 counting centres in the 11 district headquarters and Mairang and Sohra sub-divisions.
Two polling stations – Kamsing in West Jaintia Hills and Kalatek in Shella, East Khasi Hills – are accessible only by boats.
This election too, voters can verify their choice through VVPAT. All-woman polling stations and model booths remain a constant feature.
The Election Department has approached the state police to handle communication problem.
Two EVMs
In Selsella, two EVMs will be used, – one for LS polls and the other for the by-poll.
Selsella constituency that fell vacant following the demise of Congress’s Clement Marak will go to the polls on April 11.
Kharkongor said the Election Commission announced that those states where there are casual vacancies, such as the one under Selsella, will have simultaneous elections.
1950 to verify voters’ list
A voter can use the toll-free number 1950 to find out whether his or her name is there on the electoral roll.
“Having an EPIC card does not prove that his name is in the electoral roll. The name could have been deleted in the past due to shifting from one constituency to the other,” the CEO said.
Kharkongor informed that voters have to produce EPIC cards and voter photo slips will not be counted as a standalone identity proof as was the case in the past. “Voters will have to produce EPIC or any of the ID cards.”
Meanwhile, Additional DGP H Nongpluh said forces are being brought from outside and the requirement has been flagged to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“We have a nodal officer from CRPF who will be the nodal officer for central and other forces coming from outside the state. Two nodal officers in the police department are also being nominated – one is for force movement and another for expenditure surveillance,” he added.
People with licensed arms will have to deposit their arms in police stations. As for polling stations along the Assam border, Kharkongor said there will be close coordination with Assam police.
