SHILLONG, March 6: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Thursday dismissed allegations of the recent district council elections being “rigged”, and vehemently defended the integrity of the polls, saying the process was conducted fairly by government officials and not “influenced” by political parties.
Reacting to VPP supremo Ardent Basaiawmoit’s claims that the elections in JHADC were “rigged”, Sangma said, “You have to trust the system. These are officers who worked on their own. We were not there inside the polling station and neither were our party people.”
He emphasized that election trends often vary across polling stations, with different parties securing victories in different areas.
“Certain political parties have swept the polls in some polling stations. There’s nothing wrong with it. And it’s not that one political party has swept all the polling stations. If we have to go for re-polling or inquiry into all the polling stations where a party has lost, then the process will never end,” he added.
The CM also criticised the opposition for selectively questioning the poll results.
“You have to accept the mandate of the people. Just because you don’t win in certain polling stations, you say it’s wrong, and the ones in which you win, you think you are right. It doesn’t work like that,” he added.
