SHILLONG, NOV 21: The Election department has asked all the deputy commissioners to look into the issue of dual voters residing along Meghalaya-Assam border even as 24 such voters have been deleted from the electoral roll.
“All the deputy commissioners are on the job (to detect dual voters),” state’s chief electoral officer (CEO) Frederick R Kharkongor told reporters here on Tuesday.
Kharkongor informed that so far a total of 24 dual voters have been detected in Dadenggre constituency in West Garo Hills District following a software exercise initiated by the department.
“After communicating with our counterpart in Assam and after establishing that they are dual voters, their names have been deleted from the electoral rolls of the state,” he said.
Stating that it is a continuous exercise, the CEO said that they are in touch with the Assam’s chief electoral officer for comparing the electoral rolls of the two states.
“The process has already started in Dadenggre and it will follow in other districts also,” Kharkongor said while maintaining that deleting the names of dual voters will be carried out after establishment of facts through documentary proof.
Meanwhile, the chief electoral officer further informed that the state level complaint management cell and media complaint monitoring committee have been constituted and will be activated only after elections are announced.
Asked, he said that if the political parties come up with advertisement it is fine as that will be charged to their expenditure but if it is an advertisement in the guise of news that will fall under the category of paid news.
On the dorbar shnong’s attempt to force voters to vote for a particular candidate/political party, Kharkongor said if such complaints are there, the DC will be asked to inquire and it will be taken care as per rules and procedures.
According to him, no one can force anyone as everyone has his/her own preferences.
With regards to the decision of certain villages in East Jaintia Hills to boycott the upcoming 2018 state Assembly elections, the CEO said that the matter has been taken up with the DC concerned.
“Since they have certain development issues, we have asked the deputy commissioner to address all their grievances to the extent that he can,” he said.
By Our Reporter
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