Itanagar, Mar 16 (UNI) Arunachal Pradesh will go for the Assembly election simultaneously with the Parliamentary polls in a single phase on April 19 and votes counting will take place on June 4 next.
As per the poll schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi on Saturday, the date of issue of gazette notification is March 20. The last date of filing nominations is March 27, while the date of scrutiny of nominations will be March 28 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is March 30, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Pawan Kumar Sain said.
The total number of electors in the State, as on 5th January 2024, is 8,82,816 with 4,33,760 of them being males and 4,49,050 females. State’s Photo Electoral Roll and Electoral Photo Identity Card coverage stands at 100%. There will be 2,226 polling stations spread over the entire State, the CEO said.
The polling station with least number of electors is Malogam Temporary Structure in Malogam village under Hayuliang Assembly Constituency in the border district of Anjaw with one female voter. The Polling Station No. 2 - Pumao Primary School under Longding Assembly Constituency with 1462 voters has the highest number of electors in the State. Polling Station No. 18 - Luguthang under Mukto Assembly constituency in Tawang district is the highest polling station located at an altitude of about 13,383 ft.
The CEO informed that all necessary arrangements to conduct the elections have already been completed in the State. Training of all District Election Officers (DEOs), Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers and various categories of Nodal Officers were completed by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, while training of all polling officers and other election related officers in the districts have already been started by the DEOs concerned.
Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) will be used in all the polling stations. Extensive awareness programme about use of EVM and VVPAT have been conducted in the districts covering all accessible polling stations including many foot march locations. For service voters, electronically transmitted postal ballots system (ETPBS) will be used to facilitate hassle free voting.
First Level Checking of EVMs has been completed in the entire State in presence of representatives of national & state recognized political parties over the course of past many months. For poll day monitoring of the poll process in the State, webcasting and Enabling Communications on Real-time Environment (ENCORE) will be used and vehicles carrying reserve EVMs will be fitted with GPS in all cellular network covered areas. Toll free helpline no. 1950 is also installed in CEO and DEO offices for queries related to elections, Sain said, adding that information is also available in CEO website https://ceoarunachal.nic.in.
As the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the State with the date of announcement of election, the CEO said all Government machinery should strictly follow the Model Code of Conduct. Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act and Rules will be mandatorily imposed by all Deputy Commissioners, he said.
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