Mizoram to hold village & local council polls on february 12

Aizawl: Polling for the 544 Village Councils in nine districts and 111 Local Councils in two urban local bodies in Mizoram will be held simultaneously on 12 February, the Mizoram State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday.

State Election Commissioner H. Lalthlangliana told a press conference here that the counting of votes for the VC and LC polls will be held from 7 pm or as soon as polling is over on February 12.

The last date for filing nomination is 23 January, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is fixed on 27 January, he said.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on 24 January, he said.

The last date for formation of the executive body is February 14 and the election process is scheduled to be completed by February 15, Lalthlangliana said. 

According to the election commissioner, there are 2,416 seats in 544 VCs of which 613 seats are reserved for women.

Whereas in 111 LCs within Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Lunglei Municipal Council (LMC), there are 723 seats, of which 195 are reserved for women, he said. 
This is the first  LC election in LMC since the creation of the municipality in 2023, he said. 

A total of 4,37,708 voters, including 2,22,098 female electors, are eligible to exercise their franchise in the VC polls, according to the final roll published on January 8. The final rolls also showed that  there are 

2,44,726 electorates,  including 1,31,423 female voters in 87 LCs within AMC and 41,206 voters within Lunglei Municipal Council, which comprises 24 LCs.Voters in 

Lai, Mara, and Chakma councils in Lawngtlai and Siaha districts are not included in the final roll as elections to VCs in the ADC area are held separately. 

In November last year, the state government issued notifications curtailing the term of VCs by six months, which means their tenure will expire on February 19.

The current term of LCs was also reduced by six months in December, which means their tenure will end on February 19.
The decision of the Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) government headed by Chief Minister Lalduhoma to curtail the VCs and LCs term drew flak from opposition parties and the All Mizoram Village Council Association (AMVCA).

Meanwhile, the Aizawl bench of Gauhati High Court has given the state government a week time to file a counter affidavit to the writ petition filed by AMVCA president K. Lalngaizuala and other leaders challenging the government orders, which curtailed the VC term. 

In the judgment order announced on Wednesday, the court said that the counter affidavit should be filed on or before January 23 with a copy to the advocates of the petitioners, who thereafter will have the liberty to file a reply on or before January 29.

The next hearing has been scheduled for January 30 and endeavour will be made to finally dispose of the matter on this date, the court said. 

The petitioners' advocate C. Lalramzuava informed the court that the current VC term, which is due to expire in September, was arbitrarily reduced by six months by the state government without giving any genuine reasons.

He urged the court to set aside the curtailment notifications issued on November 20 and November 21 last year and that the village councils be allowed to complete their tenure. 

Government's advocate general  Biswajit Deb, on the other hand, argued that the notifications have been issued strictly in terms of the provision of section 5 of the Village Council Act which empowers the state government to extend or shorten the term of the VC.

He submitted that there are no provisions that require the state government to assign reasons for invoking the said provision.

Lalthlangliana said that they will go ahead with the poll date unless the high court holds the elections. "The SEC has no authority overextending or reducing VC or LC terms, which is the prerogative of only the state government. The responsibility of the SEC is to hold elections any time before the end of the term and we will go ahead with the elections unless the high court stays them," he told reporters.

The newly elected members will not take charge until the completion of the present VC term in case the high court makes a judgment in favor of VCs to complete their tenure, which is due to expire in September, he said.