Mizoram: Lai Autonomous District Council polls scheduled for December 3
Aizawl: Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC), one of the three ADCs in Mizoram, will go to the polls on December 3, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Friday.
State election commissioner H. Lalthlangliana told a news conference that polling for the 25-member LADC will be held across 111 polling stations from 7 am to 4 pm on December 3.
Re-polling, if necessary, will be held on December 4, and counting of votes will take place on December 9, he said.
The last date for filing nomination papers is November 14, while candidates can withdraw their candidatures by November 17, he said. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on November 14 from 3 pm onwards, and the election process is scheduled to be completed by December 12.
According to the election commissioner, a total of 56,873 voters, including 29,019 female voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the upcoming LADC polls, where Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be used.
Sakeilut constituency, with 3,993 voters, has the highest number of voters, while Cheural constituency has the least at 1,381 voters, he said. Hmawngbuchhuah polling station, at the southern tip of Mizoram on the Indo-Myanmar border, has only a single voter.
Of the 111 polling stations, three are reachable only on foot, while five others are navigable only by boat, he said.
The election model code of conduct was imposed in the LADC area on Friday till the completion of the election process on December 12.
The LADC is one of the three ADCs in the southern part of Mizoram, created in 1972 under the sixth schedule for the Lai tribal people. It has 25 elected and four nominated members.
Its headquarters are in Lawngtlai. The other two ADCs are the Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC) in Siaha district and the Chakma Autonomous District Council (CADC) in Lawngtlai district.
In the last LADC polls, held on December 4, 2020, the Mizo National Front (MNF), then the ruling party in the state, won a majority by winning 20 out of 25 seats.
BJP and Congress bagged one each, and three independent candidates were also elected.
However, the present term witnessed a change in leadership at least five times due to defection of members, and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)-led council, formed by 10 MNF members, 2 BJP members, and 1 Congress member, is currently in power with N. Zangura (BJP) as the council's Chief Executive Member (CEM).
The term of the present council will expire on December 18.