SHILLONG, Oct 12: The returning officer for the Mawryngkneng assembly constituency has declared Esron Marwein as a validly nominated independent candidate for the October 30 by-election.
Chief Electoral Officer, FR Kharkongor said on Tuesday that as the intending candidate had submitted Form 2 A along with the names of ten proposers, Marwein is considered as validly nominated under the category of independent candidate.
Marwein, who had earlier filed his nomination as a candidate of the Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), has accepted the decision of the Returning Officer on Tuesday to contest as an independent under the free symbol of ‘winnower’.
On Monday, the returning officer had put on hold scrutiny of the nomination papers of Marwein pending the decision of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday on a petition filed by party president Adelbert Nongrum against the Election Commission of India which had issued a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer Meghalaya on October 9 advising it not to accept the Form A and Form B etc. from anyone in KHNAM for the by-elections.
The Delhi High Court, which heard the case on Tuesday, directed both factions – one led by Adelbert Nongrum and the other led by Pyndapborthiaw Saibon – to appear before the returning officer and it also granted liberty to the petitioner’s candidate (Marwein) to appear before the returning officer to make his submissions on the objections raised during scrutiny of Form A and B.
The Court also directed the returning officer to decide such submissions by passing a reasoned order in accordance with the law.
