Correspondent
SHILLONG, MAY 29: Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Dr. Brahma Deo Ram Tiwari on Friday announced that election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the State Meghalaya will be held on June 18, with vote counting scheduled later the same day.
The announcement was made after a meeting with representatives from various political parties on various aspects of the election process.
Tiwari said the state election machinery fully prepared to ensure the smooth conduct of the electoral process.
The election is being conducted as the tenure of the sitting Rajya Sabha member Dr. Wanweiroy Kharlukhi of the National People’s Party (NPP) is set to expire on June 21.
Sources in the NPP say the party, which leads the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance coalition with 33 MLAs, has proposed former Home Minister James Sangma—the elder brother of Chief Minister Conrad Sangma—as its nominee for the Rajya Sabha election.
The MDA is supported by United Democratic Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Hill State People’s Democratic Party.
According to Tiwari, the Election Commission of India has scheduled the issuance of the election notification on June 1, while the last date for filing nominations is June 8. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on June 9, and candidates may withdraw their nominations until June 11.
Polling will take place on June 18 from 9 am to 4 pm, while the counting of votes will commence at 5 pm on the same day. The entire election process is expected to be completed before June 20.
The CEO also informed that political parties have been briefed on the election procedure, which will be conducted under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the open ballot system as provided under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Explaining the voting procedure, Tiwari said MLAs belonging to political parties are required to show their marked ballot papers only to the authorised agents of their respective parties, while independent legislators are not permitted to display their ballot papers to any agent.
He said that the interaction with political parties was constructive, and all queries regarding the Rajya Sabha election process had been satisfactorily addressed.
Earlier in the day, election officials, along with representatives of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, inspected the polling venue and expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made in compliance with Election Commission guidelines.