READJUSTMENT OF VOTERS IN 29 CONSTITUENCIES
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, July 8: The KHADC’s Delimitation Committee on Monday submitted its report to the council’s Deputy Chief Executive Member, PN Syiem almost eight months after it was constituted in October 2023.
The committee is headed by chairman Stralwell Kharsyiemlieh, a retired judge of the district council court and its members are former legislator SL Marbaniang, retired schoolteacher R Marboh, former KHADC secretary M Kharkrang, and NEHU faculty member DRL Nonglait.
Nonglait was the only one not present when the committee submitted its report to Syiem.
After meeting Syiem, Kharsyiemlieh told reporters that they tried their best to prepare the report according to the mandate given to the committee to readjust the number of voters of the existing constituencies of the KHADC.
“We have given our suggestion in the report submitted to the Executive Committee. It is only the EC that can share the details of the report,” he said.
He further said that the readjustment of the electorates in the constituencies within the East Khasi Hills is more accurate since the committee received the electoral rolls used for the 2019 district council elections.
Kharsyiemlieh said they faced difficulties in Ri-Bhoi, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, and Eastern West Khasi Hills, including the Sohra Civil Subdivision, since they did not get the electoral rolls.
“It is difficult to readjust the number of voters of the constituencies in these districts based on the electoral rolls for the Assembly or Lok Sabha polls. We took the villages into account as we did not have the voters’ list,” he said.
He further clarified that the committee cannot realign the constituencies since its job is to readjust the number of voters only.
Replying to a query, Kharsyiemlieh said many constituencies are not affected since they have an almost equal number of voters. “We managed to accommodate about 95% of the views and suggestions of the people of the villages. It is difficult to entertain every petition,” he said.
He said the committee knew it would not be possible to satisfy everyone with the report. “We are satisfied with it,” he added.
The Deputy CEM said the EC will discuss the report on Tuesday. “If the EC is satisfied, the report will be tabled in the form of a bill during the council’s summer session to be held from July 10,” he said.
“We will request the District Council Affairs Department to prepare the electoral rolls if the council passes the bill to implement the proposed delimitation. It is not going to take time to hold the elections after the EC approves the report,” he said.
Opposition to JHADC
delimitation move
A day ahead of a public hearing on the proposed delimitation of the JHADC constituency of Nartiang, the locals held an urgent Dorbar Shnong (community meeting) on Monday to express their strong opposition to the draft proposal that seeks to alter their constituency’s name and divide the Iaw Nartiang Colony.
Nartiang village has issued multiple communications to the JHADC Delimitation Committee, including a request to retain their village within the existing constituency (on March 27, 2024), a request for a special meeting (on June 3, 2024), and a follow-up for a response (on June 13, 2024), but to no avail.
Despite their efforts and objections, the draft proposal does not retain the village within the existing constituency of Nartiang. Instead, it proposes altering the constituency’s name and dividing the village, locals claimed.
The residents assert that the proposed delimitation divides their community, leaving Iaw Nartiang Colony split and family members in different constituencies. This division disrupts their community structure and leadership, they said.
The proposed delimitation of Nartiang, one of the oldest constituencies under JHADC, has sparked outrage. Villagers argue that the change disregards their heritage and serves a political agenda. With a vote share of less than 10,000, residents believe the changes are unnecessary and unjust.
The villagers have demanded that Nartiang should remain intact within its existing constituency and warned that any change would compel them to boycott the upcoming district council polls.