Bhubaneswar: State Election Commissioner (SEC) Aditya Prasad Padhi and his team on Thursday held a meeting with representatives of various political parties of the State for smooth conduct of the upcoming urban election.
Representatives from Governing BJD, Opposition BJP and Congress along with leaders from other political outfits have attended the meeting which was held here at Gita Govinda Sadan.
Speaking to reporters after completion of the meeting, Mr.Padhi said elections will be held for 107 Municipalities/NACs and three Corporations Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur. Draft electoral roll is being published today, he said.
The voters (as on 1 January, 2022) who are enrolled in the latest voters list published by Election Commission of India are eligible to vote during the urban election, the State Election Commissioner said.
“We have informed the political parties about direct election to the post of Mayor and Chairperson during the upcoming urban election. We also talked about use of EVMs in the poll,” Mr.Padhi said.
The new procedures on submission of affidavits by contesting candidates were also discussed during the meeting, he said, adding, the political parties have also given their suggestions and recommendations for smooth conduct of the ULB election.
Asked whether there is any change in voting timing, Mr.Padhi said, “No one has proposed to change or extend the polling time in the meeting.”
The SEC is taking all steps to conduct the urban election soon after the Panchayat Polls. The delimitation of wards, reservation seats and all other formalities required to conduct the ULB election has already been completed. The Commission has also started distribution of EVMs to the districts for the poll.
Recently, the Commission has enhanced the spending limit of the candidates contesting for the post of Councilors, Corporators, Chairpersons and Mayors.