By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Sep 7: The United Democratic Party (UDP), which favoured the elections to Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) on time, will now have to accept another six-month extension of the terms of the two district councils.
“Right from the beginning, our MDCs mentioned that they are ready to face the elections and it is better if the same is held on time. But as the delimitation process is on and a new notification has come, we just have to wait for the elections,” said UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh on Saturday.
He said the UDP has always stressed that the elections should be held on time.
“We hope that it (term of delimitation exercise) will not be extended again as that will not be appropriate. Let us hope that it will be completed on time so that the elections can be held,” Mawthoh said.
The elections to the two district councils will now be held by March 5, 2025.
Earlier, Governor CH Vijayashankar had approved both the KHADC (Constitution of District Council) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, and the JHADC (Constitution of District Council) Amendment Bill, 2024, paving the way for the delimitation of constituencies ahead of the upcoming polls.
According to sources, the District Council Affairs (DCA) department forwarded the amendment rules to the Governor after obtaining inputs from the Law department.
Meanwhile, the state government has defended its decision to extend the terms of the two district councils and dismissed the speculation that it is avoiding elections.
Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, who is also the DCA Minister, had clarified that the extension was necessary due to the lengthy processes involved in preparing for the elections.
Citing the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, he pointed out that the rules allow the Governor to extend the term of the district councils by upto 12 months if the situation so demands. The terms of both KHADC and JHADC were extended earlier this year by six months and have now been extended by another six months.
Tynsong said notifying the appendix of the rules alone would take about a month and a half, as it must include a list of villages where changes have occurred.
Regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said the central government has authorised only one public sector undertaking to manufacture EVMs and the company has been requested to come to Shillong to inspect the old EVMs.
Tynsong further defended the extension stating that the state government must allow the district councils to access data from the electoral rolls published by the Election Commission of India. He added that the revision process would take no less than three and a half months before the final roll is published.