Guwahati: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that over 13.9 lakh voters have been registered in Nagaland and over 30,000 of them plan to cast their first ballots in the upcoming state Assembly elections.
The two-day visit by a team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) that included the Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commissioner of India Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel came to an end on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at Hotel De Oriental Grand Kohima today, Chief Election Commissioner said, “The Election Commission of India has held meetings with the various political parties as well as district administration and police personnel to review the poll preparedness for smooth conduct of forthcoming assembly elections in Nagaland.”
He stated that there will be 2,315 polling locations throughout 60 assembly constituencies, with an average of 566 voters per location. Sixty percent of the polling locations will offer webcasting services.
“The Election Commission of India is committed to conduct the upcoming State Assembly elections in a free, fair, peaceful and inducement-free manner. While also stating that, over 13.9 lakh electors are registered in the state and over 30,000 first-time voters are set to participate in the forthcoming elections,” he said.
According to Kumar, all arrangements have been made at the voting locations on the ground floor for the convenience of senior citizens and people with disabilities. Additionally, a postal ballot facility will be available for voters who are 80 years or older and people with disabilities, allowing them to cast their ballots from the comfort of their own homes.
The Chief Election Commissioner further stated that the cVIGIL mobile app is for the voters to be vigilant for a stronger democracy, where the mobile app will take 100 minutes to respond via their GIS location to complaints if any breaches or malpractice take place.
According to him, the ECI team visited Thanamir and Longwa village for inclusive and participatory elections, and they travelled the final mile of the state to ensure that no voters were left behind.
The top election commissioner provided a brief explanation of a number of applications and portals connected to voter identification, learning whether a candidate has any criminal convictions, voter hotline apps, etc. with the goal of promoting transparency in the voting process.
Moreover, he said that all voting officials including security personnel will be women in 196 of the state’s polling places.
“State Nagaland have 60 assembly constituencies with total electors of 13,09,651, which include 6,53,616 male voters and 6,56,035 female voters,” he said adding to the electors, the service electors constitutes 7,980, while persons with disabilities PwDs constitutes 6970, the 80 plus electors constitutes 36,403, and the Centenarian(100+years) constitutes 1,675, while the first time voters (aged between 18 to 19 years) numbers 30,049 voters.
Meanwhile, the Chief Election Commissioner of India further informed that the dates for the Nagaland assembly election will be notified in a short period of time.