Nagaland
Announcement of Nagaland ULB poll date after revisions of e-roll, says State Election Commissioner
KOHIMA — State Election Commissioner, T John Longkumer, has notified that the special summary revision of the electoral roll for all the municipal and town councils in Nagaland would begin on March 8, after which the poll date for urban local body election would be announced.
Addressing a press conference alongside Tsutsowe Kupa, Under Secretary, State Election Commission, Longkumer highlighted the schedule for the special summary revision, which will conclude with the final publication of the electoral roll on April 12. (Refer table)
| Sl. No. | STAGES OF SCHEDULE | DATE |
| 1. | Draft publication of electoral roll | March 8 |
| 2. | Period for lodging claims and objections | March 11 to the 20th |
| 3. | Period for disposal of claims and objections | March 21 to the 27th |
| 4. | Period for filing appeal to the respective appellate authorities | March 28 to April 3 |
| 5. | Disposal of claims and objections by the appellate authority | April 4 to the 6th |
| 6. | Preparation of list of amendments after decision of appellate authority | April 8 to the 10th |
| 7. | Final publication of electoral roll | April 12 |
The revision for deletion and inclusion of voters will be conducted with reference to January 1, 2024 as the qualifying date, he said, adding that the revision exercise will encompass three municipalities – Kohima, Dimapur and Mokokchung and 36 town councils.
The state election commissioner stated that the state’s delayed urban local body (ULB) election is being scrutinised by the Supreme Court of India, with the most recent direction being that the election process be completed by March 30, 2024.
He maintained that the state machinery is working hard and will do everything possible to complete it on time, but that the poll date will not be announced until the summary revision of the electoral roll is complete and a schedule is finalised.
Longkumer also highlighted the transition from the old Nagaland Municipal Act of 2001 to the new Nagaland Municipal Act enacted in 2023, and asserted that the legislative and political processes has been completed with repealing the old Act. Conclusive consultative meetings were also held with the tribal bodies and the next step is to conduct the election, he said.
Meanwhile, the election commissioner also pointed out that the Lok Sabha election is likely to coincide with the ULB election, and said that he is consulting the state Attorney General, and would examine the matter and take a logical decision.
He went on to state that the last revision of the electoral roll was done in November 2022, and that the total elector count is 3,60,150, with approximately 1, 69,000 female voters and 1, 70, 000 male voters in 418 wards with 693 polling stations, as per the Nov. 2022 e-roll.
Longkumer said that no additional personnel, such as enumerators, supervisors or sector magistrates, need to be appointed for this revision, as individual claimants or objectors can directly apply to the Election Registration Officers (EROs) in their respective offices. Appellate authorities for objections or other issues will be the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) for local matters and the state election commissioner for state-level issues, he said.
He also said that a meeting was held in this regard, with all the Election Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Election Registration Officers (AEROs) at the Kohima DC’s conference hall.
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