NAGALAND: MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT COMES TO FORCE TILL THE COMPLETION OF BYE-ELECTION

The announcement of bye-election to the Nagaland parliamentary constituency scheduled on May 28th, will bring the model code of conduct into force with immediate effect.

Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Abhijit Sinha while addressing to the media persons, today at DC conference hall informed that the model code of conduct will be applicable to all the candidates, political parties and to the union and state government.

The  gazette notification can be issued on May 3, after that the nomination can be put on May 10th while scrutiny on May 11, and the last day of withdrawal will be on May 14th, and accordingly the polling will start from May 28 and the counting on May 31. By 2nd of June all the election process will be completed, he added.

Further Sinha also said that the total number of electorate stands at 11,97,438 with 60,75,89 males and 589849 female electors and there are  2196 polling stations, while 474 polling stations in urban and 1722 polling stations in rural areas. He also mentioned that during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the voter turnout was 88.25% while in 2009 the voter turnout percentage was 90.26%.

An epic card will be issued for the election and also an identity card for an individual can also be used, however for the identity card, he said ECI will issue directive prior to the polls and 12 Assistant returning officers will be assisting the commissioner Nagaland as returning officer while the first level of checking EVM’s will be started by next week.

Additional CEO Moa Aier informed that video camera and webcam will be installed in all the 2196 polling stations and the vulnerability of the polling stations will be identified by the Deputy Commissioners.

The model code of conduct stated that during the elections from any constituencies, either parliamentary or assemblies, the ministers whether central or state shall not combine in any manner their official tours with elections work after the announcement of the bye election.

Also it mentioned that any visits to the district's where bye-election was to be held and where model code of conduct was enforced, have to be private in nature.

In a case where a minister travelling on official work transits through the districts where the bye-election is being held en route to any other districts on official visit should not attend to any political parties.