Bhubaneswar: With the completion of seat reservation and other exercise by the State Government, the State Election Commission (SEC) headed by retired IAS officer Aditya Prasad Padhi has started preparation to conduct the three-tier Panchayat elections in the State.
Holding a press conference here, Padhi said the tenure of the three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) in the State will end in March 2022 and elections to form fresh councils in the PRIs will be conducted before the end of the terms.
Therefore, the Commission has started preparing electoral rolls for the upcoming poll. Those who have attained 18 years of age as on November 1, 2021, would be included in voters’ list, Padhi said.
The eligible voters can apply for inclusion of their names in the electoral roll through proper forms, he said.
“The Election Commission of India has updated the Assembly constituency voters’ list. We will split ward-wise and the preliminary voters’ list will be displayed at the Gram Panchayat headquarters on November 16,” the commissioner said.
People seeking any changes can submit their applications to Panchayat Extension Officer, in-charge electoral registration officer, by November 23. The concerned authorities can make necessary corrections and dispose of the applications between November 24 and 26.
Those, who are having disputes with the drafted list at Panchayat-level, can submit their petition before the Block Development Officer (BDO) on November 29 and 30. The BDO will hear the petitions and dispose of those during December 1 to 2, Padhi said.
The SEC informed that BDOs will prepare the final voters’ list on December 4 and sent to the State Election Commission by December 6. The Commission will publish it by December 14.
This exercise will be done in 29 out of 30 districts. For the time being Balasore district has been excluded from the exercise because of delay in reservation and delimitation process by the State government in view of formation of Remuna NAC, added Padhi.