Mizoram NGO leaders to meet ECI officials to discuss vote counting rescheduling

Aizawl: Leaders of Mizoram NGO Coordination Committee (NGOCC) will meet officials of Election Commission of India (ECI) to discuss about shifting of counting of votes for state assembly polls on Friday, a leader said on Thursday. 

The ECI had fixed December 3 as the day for counting of votes for five states- Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana.

However, political parties, civil society organisations, churches and a church-sponsored poll watchdog in Mizoram had opposed it and sent numerous pleas to the Election Commission urging it to reschedule the counting date because it falls on Sunday, a sacred day for the majority of Christians in the Christian-majority state.

The six-member NGOCC delegation led by its chairman Lalhmachhuana left for Delhi on Thursday to meet the ECI officials and to re-appeal the poll body to defer the date of counting of votes to ensure that it is not held on Sunday, the committee general secretary Malsawmliana said. 

NGOCC is an umbrella organisation of major civil societies and student organisations, including the Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA) and Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP).

"Although we don't get a prior appointment from the Election Commission, we have been advised to come down to Delhi and to try to meet the officials on Friday. We can't delay waiting for an appointment," Malsawmliana, who is also the general secretary of CYMA, said.

He expressed hope that the meeting would come out positive. 

Lalhmachhuana, who is also the president of CYMA, said that they will meet at least the chief election commissioner if not the full body of the commission is convenient.

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The committee had earlier said that it will organise a protest if the meeting with the Election Commission did not come out fruitful. 

Fixing the date of counting of votes on Sunday (December) has received stiff opposition from political parties, NGOs and churches, which sent repeated appeals to the ECI to reschedule the counting date to a particular day other than Sunday and Saturday.

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Earlier, Congress had blamed the ECI for not changing the counting date despite numerous appeals from different quarters and alleged that it was not respecting the sentiments of the Mizo people. 

The party had also said it felt that "injustice" was being done in Mizoram as the poll body had changed the polling date for Rajasthan due to a Hindu festival though it refused to comply with similar requests made in the northeastern state.

The decision of the NGOCC to meet the ECI came after state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Madhup Vyas, who held a meeting with ECI officials recently, said that the Central poll panel was adamant in changing the date already fixed when election schedules were announced on October 9.

It may be noted that the ECI then headed by Chief Election Commissioner V.S Sampath deferred the date of counting of votes for Mizoram assembly polls in 2013 from December 8 (Sunday) to December 9 (Monday) following appeals by political parties, civil societies and churches. 

Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly was held peacefully on November 7 where more than 80 per cent of over 8.57 lakh voters cast their votes to decide the fate of 174 candidates.