Nagaland is holding Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections after 20 years. It is also historic as this would be the first-ever municipal elections in the state to be held with 33 per cent reservation for women. A total of 669 candidates filed their nominations for the elections in Nagaland that will be held on June 26. The votes for the ULB elections will be counted on June 29.
669 candidates, including 238 women, filed their nomination papers for the three municipal councils and 36 town councils, said the State Election Commission.
Tuesday was the last day for filing of nominations while scrutiny of documents would be taken up on Thursday with June 18 being the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
The commencement of the election is a big achievement as earlier several efforts to hold the poll were foiled. The government had announced elections to ULBs several times in the past but objections from tribal bodies and civil society organisations against reservation for women, and tax on land and properties had held back the polls.
The tribal bodies were asserting that these two provisions infringe on the special rights for Nagaland guaranteed by Article 371(A) of the Constitution.
In 2017, the government had withheld the decision to conduct the election after clashes left two persons dead and several others injured on the eve of the day of voting.
The clashes also led to the setting ablaze of the Kohima Municipal Council office and government offices in the state capital and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, defying the call of the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organization (ENPO) for abstention from the elections, several candidates of the ruling NDPP and BJP have filed nominations, officials said.
ENPO, the apex body of seven Naga tribes living in six eastern districts of the state, has been demanding a 'Frontier Nagaland Territory', claiming that the region has been neglected for years.
The ENPO had also asked people to refrain from participating in the Lok Sabha polls for the lone seat in the state.
Also read: First Parliament session after Lok Sabha elections to be held from June 24 to July 3
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